The Gods Visit
by Alexandra989
Summary: As part of an oath, Zeus decrees that every god who has a cabin will spend three days of each month at Camp Half-Blood with their children. A series of chapters featuring each god and their children.
1. Prologue

Zeus sat at the largest throne in the room as he always did, and surveyed the empty ones that surrounded him. The only other god in the room was his wife, Hera.

"Where are they?" Zeus thundered, his patience wearing thin.

"Be patient, I'm sure the children and our brothers will show up soon enough," Hera tried to calm her husband down, though there was a sliver of annoyance in her voice. Her eyes darted over to the guest seats that had been set up, for Hades and other minor gods.

Several moments later, the other gods including Hades and the minor gods, began to file in, chattering with each other. "Greetings, brothers! It's been a long time since I last set foot here," Hades smirked, receiving a glare from his younger brother. They bowed to Zeus before settling on their thrones and glanced at the Lord of the Sky expectantly.

"I know it is not the winter solstice and that the minor gods are here, but I called you all together for a... um, a request made by one of our heroes."

"Percy Jackson?" Athena guessed, a slight note of disdain in her voice. Poseidon shot her a look.

"No, not the Jackson kid," Zeus continued. He sighed, much to the surprise of the gods present. "Another one of our heroes embarked on a dangerous quest, and I offered them a reward- not immortality, of course- and this kid... well, they made a rather strange request. And I swore on the River Styx to grant it." He paused, but none of the other gods said anything, and merely looked at him to continue. "Well," Zeus went on. "They mentioned that as much as we gods require the heroes, they need us to. We are their parents, and... they requested we spend some time with them at Camp Half-Blood."

Almost immediately, the room was abuzz with chatter as each god began talking at once. Spend some time with their kids in Camp Half-Blood? Actually interact with their kids? Most of the gods looked eager, and they turned to Zeus, awaiting his verdict.

"Well, we are their parents," Demeter spoke up. "It only seems right that we allocate some of our time for them. However, a certain god forbade this..." She threw a glance at her brother.

Artemis sat back on her throne and crossed her arms, looking slightly pleased. "I suppose I'm exempted from this, then," she said. "I spend all my days with my Hunters, and they are my adopted children."

"This request will serve to bring us closer, I suppose," Hera spoke.

"And me?" Dionysus asked. "Am I not already stationed at the camp?" His voice was laced with annoyance.

"Well, yes," Zeus responded. "And you will continue staying there. But now, we will have a change of rules. You won't be the only god at Camp Half-Blood." He glanced around at the other gods. "We will take turns," he decreed. "Each of you will go down to Camp Half-Blood and spend at least three days with your demigod children."

"Three days!"

"We love our children, but we are gods and we do have work to do!"

"Is this request even wise?"

"Silence!" Zeus thundered, and the chatter ceased almost immediately. "I took an oath on the River Styx. This request has to be fulfilled. Come on, it will be only three days, once a month. And you will be taking turns. Your jobs can still be done in the early morning or late at night. Time management, people."

"I'm up for spending quality time with my children," Demeter enthused. "We can eat cereal every day!"

"It'll be good to see Percy and Tyson again," Poseidon muttered, almost to himself, smiling at the thought.

There was a murmur of assent from the rest of the assembly, though some were almost reluctant.

"But what about me?" Hades complained. "I only have that boy, Nico!"

"It doesn't matter how many children there are," Zeus said. "It all boils down to spending time with them. Just three days. This is all part of fulfilling a request, part of an oath on the River Styx, so any objections will not be entertained." He turned to his wife and one of his daughters. "Hera and Artemis... you will be excluded from this."

"So who goes first?" Hecate spoke up.

With a wave of his hand, Zeus made a map of Camp Half-Blood appear mid-air, before the assembly. Zoning in on one part, he brought up the layout of the cabins, with labels. "Mine is Cabin #1," he mused. "Thalia has left to join the Hunters. I suppose that could wait." His eyes moved over to Cabin #2. Hera' which was empty. Then to Cabin #3. "Poseidon!" He turned to his brother. "You will be the first."

Poseidon nodded, still smiling at the thought of seeing one of his favourite sons and actually being able to spend three days with the boy. "When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow, at daybreak. Dionysus, you will give him a tour early in the morning," Zeus said, looking at the aforementioned god of wine, who wasn't showing much reaction to this piece of news involving the presence of other gods in the camp he was doomed to. Zeus turned back to the other gods, and with another flick of his hand, the cabin layout disappeared, but scrolls appeared before each god. "Those are your schedules, stating the dates you will have to visit your children in the camp," he said. "This meeting is now adjourned."

** Okay, I won't be including characters from the Heroes of Olympus series first, as I have not finished it, so I don't want to ruin the characters. They will be included, however, in future chapters. **

** And the heroes who made the request... well, that's another story. :-P**

** Thanks for reading and please review! **


	2. Poseidon: Day 1

Upon waking up that morning, Percy had a strange feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite place a finger on it. He sat up in on his bunk, listening to the soft snores emanating from his half-brother, Tyson who, much to Percy's delight, had decided to come to Camp Half-Blood for the summer. He and Annabeth had been dating for some time. His team had won at Capture the Flag the previous week. Everything seemed fine.

And then it finally dawned on him what had been wrong. He hadn't had any bad dreams or terrible visions the previous night. Quite the contrary, he had been dreaming about his dad. However, the dreams had been pleasant, mostly of images of him and his dad doing some father-son activities together... images that would be sweet memories in a regular kid's mind, but not for Percy.

Outside his cabin, the sun was just beginning to rise. Percy clambered out of bed and got dressed before heading out. He seemed to be quite early. Most of the campers in the other cabins were still in deep slumber. Percy wandered about the green for a while, glancing occasionally at the hearth, which was unguarded that morning. Feeling a little bored, he walked a little way out, getting a good view of the dining pavilion. It appeared picturesque that morning, bathed in the soft morning light.

That was when Percy caught sight of the figures. Someone was already up, and they were walking past the dining pavilion. Percy watched from afar, making out the form of Chiron, and another burly man, who seemed familiar. Unable to contain his curiosity, Percy took off running towards them.

"And this is where the campers dine, Lord Poseidon," Chiron seemed to be explaining, gesturing at the building. "And here they will make offerings to the gods."

Lord Poseidon? Percy shook his head, wondering if he was still asleep and this was just part of the pleasant dreams. It had to be. There was no way his father could be at camp. Gods were forbidden from direct contact with their children, weren't they? No, Chiron was probably talking about peanut butter.

"And we... Percy?"

Percy looked up at the sound of his name. He was standing several feet away from Chiron and the visitor. The centaur fixed him with a small smile as the visitor turned. Percy's eyes widened at the sight of those familiar sea-green eyes, with the smile crinkles around them.

"Dad?"

"Percy." Poseidon's eyes lit up as he smiled at his son.

"Dad, you're here!" Percy ran up to his father and instinctively threw his arms around the god. They shared a tight embrace before breaking apart. "But how... why..." Percy couldn't quite get the words out.

"Zeus took an oath. And now we gods have a chance to come visit our children for three days, once a month," Poseidon explained.

"But that's amazing!" Percy grinned. His eyes darted from his father's beaming face to his cabin in the distance. "Wait till Tyson sees you!" He was about to run off, when Chiron laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait a moment, Percy," he said, in a kindly voice, his eyes twinkling. "According to Mr. D, the visit is supposed to be a surprise, and is to be presented during breakfast. However, you found out earlier, but let's keep it from Tyson for now, alright?" The centaur gestured at the sea god before continuing, "And I have yet to show Lord Poseidon the beach."

Percy nodded reluctantly, as he trudged back to his cabin. Casting one last glance over his shoulder, he watched as Chiron trotted off. Poseidon turned to look at Percy, and at that moment, their eyes met. A strange warm feeling filled Percy, which made him want to do crazy things like skip, jump and probably sing along with the Apollo cabin. His father was here, in Camp Half-Blood, to be with him and Tyson.

He decided not to think about the three-days duration.

#

The usual buzz of the chatter reached his ears as Percy arrived at the dining pavilion, with Tyson. Most of the campers were already there, tucking in, flinging bits of food at each other or merely talking. Percy glanced over at Chiron, who gave him a wink.

"So, brother, what was the surprise?" Tyson asked, grinning, practically bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Percy almost regretted telling him.

"You'll find out soon enough, Tyson," he responded, a small smile forming on his face, as the two half-brothers took their seat at the Poseidon table. A breakfast of cheese sandwiches was served, which Tyson hungrily devoured. Percy glanced over at the Athena table, where he caught Annabeth looking at him. She raised an eyebrow, probably noticing a difference in his mood that morning.

"Attention, campers," Chiron addressed the young demigods. The hubbub in the pavilion slowly ceased as the campers turned and refocused their attention on the centaur. "I have some interesting news. From now on, the gods are allowed to pay you, their children, monthly visits."

Almost instantly, chatter broke out once more, as the demigods exchanged looks and guesses. As Chiron stamped several times, they fell silent and turned back to face him. "However, they will not be coming down from Olympus all at once. They..."

A camper from the Athena cabin raised her hand. "Aren't our parents forbidden from establishing any direct contact with us?"

"Yes," Chiron responded. "But that rule has been... ah, bent a little. Partially changed. As I was saying, the gods will take turns, and not all of them will leave Olympus at once. And so today, we have a very special guest with us. Please welcome, Lord Poseidon, the sea god, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses."

Many pairs of eyes widened at those words and surprised, shocked, and even a little terrified looks were exchanged. The campers all rose to their feet, and Percy waited in anticipation for his father's appearance.

As Poseidon walked into the dining pavilion, all the campers bowed low, save for Tyson. "Daddy!" he exclaimed, bounding over to the sea god. Sure, Tyson had been working down at the forges in his father's palace, but the young Cyclops was excited to see his father nonetheless. Anyway, he had been gone for part of the summer.

Everyone tried to act as respectful as possible as Poseidon walked over to the table reserved for his demigod children. He and Percy shared another short, brief hug before they sat down.

As the campers sank back onto their seats, another hand went up, this time from the Demeter cabin. "Does this mean that our mother will be here as well?" asked Katie.

Chiron nodded. "As I was saying, the gods are taking turns. Quite possibly, Lady Demeter will be along soon." This elicited a lot of enthusiasm from the Demeter campers.

"So, will you be taking part in activities around camp, dad?" Percy asked.

"Why, yes, of course." Poseidon's eyes twinkled. "Though, preferably, I should be spending more time with the two of you."

"We can ride pretty water ponies!" enthused Tyson, clapping his hands gleefully. "Or those flying ones!"

Poseidon winked at his sons. "I do plan to have a chariot ride."

#

The other campers were feeling a little uncomfortable with a god's presence in their camp, and had gone to measures to ensure that everything was neat. Chiron, however, had told them not to worry or feel too uncomfortable, as Poseidon's main focus would be on his two demigod sons.

As Rainbow and Tyson had a happy reunion by the beach, Poseidon turned to his son. "You know, son, I've been meaning to coach you on controlling those powers of yours. You are strong, and seem to have good control, but there is so much more to learn."

Percy nodded. "Shall we get started?"

Several moments later, Percy and his father were skidding at an amazing speed on the water's surface, getting farther and farther away from the beach. Tyson was riding Rainbow, who didn't seem to be able to catch up with the other two.

"Hey, wait up!" the young Cyclops yelled.

"Catch us if you can, Tyson!" Percy hollered at his half-brother, grinning. He flashed two thumbs-up.

"Alright, Percy." Percy's attention snapped back to his father at the sound of the god's voice. Poseidon pointed at Tyson. "Let's see how long it takes you to ride around Tus on and back."

Percy turned, still skidding along the surface of the water. Riding the waves was a simple task, but it required some amount of concentration. Percy willed the waves to carry him towards Tyson and they moved to his will, carrying him towards his half-brother, who was busy talking to the hippocampus.

"Faster," Percy urged the waves, and he sped on towards Tyson. The Cyclops only looked up at the last minute. "Incoming!" Percy yelled, but swerved around Tyson, making a circle around him, and heading back out to sea. "Race you to dad!"

"No way!"

Huge grins plastered on their faces and both half-drenched, Percy and Tyson sped back towards Poseidon, who was watching them with amusement. Percy felt a little tired from speeding towards Tyson, and he was slowing down, causing Rainbow to come neck to neck with him. The wind whipped at their hair, and Percy felt a sense of exhilaration.

"I'm gonna reach daddy first! Onward, Rainbow!"

"Not so fast!"

Surprisingly, it had not been Percy who had shouted that remark. Poseidon was manipulating the waves, making it a lot harder for Percy or Rainbow to reach him.

"No fair, daddy!" Tyson complained, but he was grinning.

Percy tried to fight the giant waves rolling towards him, feeling like one of those buff surf dudes he often saw at Montauk. However, he was without a surfboard, and he was beginning to feel a little weary.

"Rainbow is tired," Tyson stated, halting the hippocampus. "Aren't you, boy?" The hippocampus whinnied in response.

"Percy." Percy looked up as the waves died and the water became still. His father stood by him. "That was a good effort, Percy," he offered. Percy beamed. "Perhaps we should try some target practice."

"Target practice?" Percy's mind instantly filled with images of the Apollo campers with their bows and arrows.

Poseidon waved his hand and the water rose to form several targets, larger than average, but bearing much resemblance to the archery targets. "Try shooting one of them with a jet of water." Poseidon demonstrated, sending a neat stream of water directly into the bullseye of one of the targets, shattering it.

"Go Percy!" Tyson cheered.

Taking a deep breath, Percy focused on the water beneath him. He willed a small, thin stream out, keeping it in control, before hurling it at a near target. It missed the bullseye by about an inch, though it was a little hard to tell, what with the targets being water and all.

"Almost there, brother!" Tyson called out, encouragingly.

Trying to use minimal energy, Percy called up another stream and hosed the bullseye of another target. "Yay! Percy scores!" Tyson clapped happily.

For the next half-an hour, Poseidon guided Percy on hydrokinesis techniques while Tyson glided around on Rainbow, participating once in a while, or ducking underwater. Though it was tiring, Percy was always fully aware of the fact that he was in closer proximity with his father than was normal, and he was thankful to the gods for that.

"Daddy, tell us all about your adventures!" Tyson enthused, as they took a breather on the beach. "From Olympus, your palace..."

Percy couldn't help wondering if he already knew most of his father's adventures. And if he did, he didn't feel like hearing any of them at the moment. It was just going to spoil the atmosphere, especially subjects like Typhon.

"What do you say we go canoeing instead?" Percy asked, gesturing at the canoes.

#

Throughout the first day of his dad's visit, Percy discovered a new side to his father. A side that was more playful, inventive and which smiled a lot. It was a total opposite of his usual solemn self when on Olympus, and upon thinking of the white-bearded god he had seen at the underwater palace, Percy was almost unable to process the idea that they were the same person.

"Percy!" Annabeth came running up to her boyfriend as returned from the beach as the sun sank on the horizon. They had spent the entire day with water sports, and new games Tyson came up with, and all three of them had camped out on the beach to watch the sunset and talk. All sorts of miscellanous subjects had come up during their conversations. For several moments, Percy had sat back and allowed himself to imagine that this was a normal day with his dad, and that they did it every weekend. It felt surreal, but really nice.

"Annabeth! Care to join us tomorrow on the beach?" Percy had decided to allocate the entire first day to his father alone. Annabeth quickly bowed upon meeting the sea god.

"Athena's daughter, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

Poseidon beamed. His sea-green eyes darted between Percy and Annabeth, and a knowing look crossed his eyes, causing both teens to blush slightly.

"It's almost dinner," Annabeth quickly spoke. "Chiron sent me to get you."

"Dinner! I'm hungry!" Tyson exclaimed.

The campers immediately leaped to their feet at the sight of Poseidon and bowed. As meals were served by the wood nymphs, Percy turned to his father. "Um, dad, am I still supposed to sacrifice something?" He eyed his father's platter, wondering if he should transfer some of his food onto it instead.

Poseidon chuckled. "It's customary, Percy, and is also a tribute to the other gods, not just me. I suggest you go along with it."

Percy joined the line of campers and scraped some food off his plate and into the fire. "Poseidon," he said, and bowed once, before returning to his table. His father beamed at him, and Percy couldn't remember the last time his father had looked that happy.

"Tomorrow we will have a chariot-riding competition," Chiron later announced, and several campers groaned, though not too audibly, for fear of the god seated in close proximity to them. It was so obvious who was going to be the victor. Several brave ones from the Ares cabin shot Percy and Tyson dirty looks behind Poseidon's back.

"Can we have Annabeth on our team, daddy?" Tyson asked.

Poseidon nodded. "Of course, why should I forbid such an alliance?" He winked at Percy, who went red again. However, his expression changed slightly as he glanced down at his goblet, and Percy couldn't help wondering if it had something to do with chariots and Athena. He didn't ask.

"So, where are you sleeping tonight, dad? The Big House?" he inquired instead.

"Ah, that. Yes, I have been offered a room at the Big House, but I'll pass."

"Where then?"

"You'll see."

** I think I totally ruined this. :-P Poseidon's visit will be broken up into 2-3 parts, as Percy and Tyson are major characters. Perhaps there will be shorter chapters for the other gods. Sorry this chapter was so bad. I'll try to do better on the next!**

**As for the setting, I can't really be specific. Can we let it stay a little vague, as I prefer to involve other characters (in future chapters) and not try to stick too much to a timeline? This whole fic spans over a summer. *minor update: On second thought, I'll be keeping this within the PJO timeline for now. So, Jason, Piper, Leo and the others won't show up till later.  
**

** Thanks for reading and please review!**


	3. Poseidon: Day 2

"Percy! Percy, wake up!"

Percy's eyes flew open to see his father's sea-green ones staring down at him. The god smiled. "And when you bumped into us yesterday, I actually assumed you were an early bird," he spoke, as Percy sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"What... What time is it?"

Poseidon glanced out of the window, as though he could tell the time by looking at the sky. "Five minutes till breakfast."

Percy groaned, dragging himself out of bed. His eyes darted over to the neat bunk where Poseidon had spent the night. No one dared question the sea god when he made the odd request, but Percy had a feeling the campers would never stop talking about it.

"Um, dad?"

"Yes, son?"

"Did you... make your bed?" Percy took in the folded sheets and propped-up pillow. He had a feeling no harpies dropped by earlier.

"Yes, that's right," Poseidon responded, his eyes twinkling. "Just because I'm a god doesn't mean I can't make my own bed."

"Well, I never really said that, but I just thought... that you would usually have people to do it for you." Percy couldn't help wondering if they even had sheets in underwater palaces, as he ran a comb through his hair once before heading out with his father. Campers who were still loitering about the green took off at the sight of the sea god, while others meekly bowed as he passed.

"Daddy! Percy! You're finally awake!" Tyson's enthusiasm was infectious. Percy grinned at his baby brother.

As Percy sat down at the table and began feeding on salad, his thoughts returned to the previous night. They had joined in the sing-along by the campfire (and Poseidon had made a mental note to inform a certain god of music to start writing new songs for his kids that did not involve grandmothers in armour), but left early, and took a stroll along the beach in the moonlight. He wondered if they could do it again.

"Hey, dad, what do you have planned for us today?" He was aware of the nervous glances the other campers were throwing their way. Annabeth waved at Percy from the Athena table.

"I really like that Athena girl," Poseidon said, winking at Percy, before realising a question had been asked. "What- oh, um, well, something that involves water. Lots of it. Today, a lot of campers are going to be drenched."

Chiron stamped to get everyone's attention, which seemed to be easier with the presence of a god. "First of all, tomorrow, we will be having a chariot race," he announced. The campers immediately exchanged anxious looks, all of them sharing a common thought, but not daring to voice it out for fear of offending the sea god. "Yes, I know what you're thinking. But no, Lord Poseidon will only be watching, and cheering his son on." There was a collective sigh of relief.

Poseidon couldn't help chuckling. "These kids are wonderful," he said, though it was almost to himself. "Brother shouldn't forbid us from direct contact with them," he muttered under his breath.

Percy almost wanted to point out that if Ares was granted permission to fight his children's battles, half the campers would die in Capture the Flag or chariot races, but he decided to remain silent and pretend he didn't hear Poseidon's mutterings.

"As for today, all your training has been called off," Chiron went on. "Lord Poseidon has something in store- water sports!"

Everyone began to groan, but stopped immediately, wide-eyed and gesturing in the aforementioned sea god's direction. Their fear was starting to annoy Percy a little. It was almost as though they expected Poseidon to suddenly unleash a personal hurricane on each and every one of them. However, as he got dirty looks from the Ares campers, he could guess what they were thinking- water sports, Percy and Tyson might as well just walk home with the trophy and spare the other campers from injuries.

#

The campers gathered on a raised platform over the water's surface, a slight way out from the beach, dressed in swimsuits and diving costumes. The idea of getting drenched in their casual clothes didn't appeal to them, especially not the Aphrodite campers who gazed constantly into their mirrors, pretty faces twisted with annoyance, as the summer breeze constantly blew strands of their perfect hair into their faces.

Spotting Annabeth among her siblings from the Athena cabin, all of them dressed in diving suits with a pattern of owls on the sleeves, Percy hurried over.

"Hey, you're on my team, right?" he asked.

Annabeth smirked. "Let's try this with us in opposing sides, shall we? I like a challenge."

"Hey, Percy!" yelled a voice. Percy glanced upwards and spotted Grover a good distance away. "Good luck!" the satyr yelled, flashing two thumbs-up.

"Alright, campers!" Chiron bellowed, as he trotted on the sand. Poseidon was with him, beaming around at the demigods, whom, as usual, bowed respectfully. Their fear had subsided a little, as Poseidon seemed to be in a cheery mood at the moment. "What you're gonna go through in a while more, will be very similar to what Percy, Annabeth, Clarisse and Tyson endured on their quest for the Golden Fleece, and maybe more. It will be a competition, of course, but it serves to train and prepare you should you ever face similar situations."

The campers began whispering among themselves, talking about what they had heard from various sources regarding the quest for the Fleece that seemed to be about millennia ago.

"I require one camper from each cabin to step up please," Chiron said, gesturing towards the edge of the platform, which had markings on it. He pointed at several bobbing buoys with red flags in the distance. "Your goal is to swim out there, get a flag and swim back. The first person to return with the flag will be the winner."

The campers began to grow suspicious. There was no way it was going to be that simple. They glanced at the water's surface, which seemed eerily calm.

"On your marks!"

A representative from each cabin raced up to the edge. "I'll take this one, Tyson," Percy told his half-brother before rushing up to join them. He turned to look at his father, who gave him an encouraging nod and smile. Turning back, he noticed the dirty looks the campers were giving him, but judging from the how tiny the speck of red hat was the flag in the distance was, he might wound up as tired as the others before he was even halfway there.

"Mind if I join you?" came a familiar voice. Percy turned and glimpsed Annabeth, as she stood by the owl that had been roughly sketched on the edge. She shot Percy another smirk.

As soon as the shrill sound of the whistle echoed, the campers standing at the edge dove into the water. Percy, however, landed on the surface as though it was solid ground and began riding a small wave, his eyes focused on the flag ahead, aware of the others swimming alongside him.

"Go brother!" Tyson cheered.

Everything seemed fine. All he had to do was try not to let fatigue overcome him, and he would reach the flag in no time, claim it, and return. But then things began to stir.

"It's a boat!" he heard someone yell off to his right, and turning, he spotted the Hermes and Dionysus kids clambering onto an inflatable lifeboat. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, moored to a post. "Row, row!" Travis Stoll called out, grabbing the oars, looking up at Percy, who was momentarily distracted.

Turning his attention back to the flag, Percy willed himself to go faster, recalling his lesson the previous day. But no matter how fast he tried to go, he didn't seem to be moving towards the flag. In fact, it seemed to be getting farther and farther away. As he kept pursuing it, the Hermes and Dionysus campers rowed past, waving mockingly at him.

What in the name of Zeus? Percy turned to see if he could catch a glimpse of his father, but the platform was too far away to make out anyone on it clearly. To his left, Drew from Aphrodite was just treading water, complaining as she sputtered, shaking water out of her hair. Annabeth was already swimming past. Clarisse was crossing his path, trying to get to the boat occupied by Travis and Pollux.

Percy pressed on, but all of sudden, he halted, standing atop the water's surface not in the least bit wet, and pricked his ears. What was that sound? It was so familiar. He turned, and saw them.

The sirens were very much like the ones he had seen at the sea of monsters, but now, he was able to hear them clearly. He couldn't even begin to describe their voices. Imagine the most beautiful and angelic voice you have ever heard. Multiply its beauty tenfold. It probably didn't even come close to how the sirens sounded. And as he looked, they transformed and his eyes feasted on a vision of his mother, but she hung from a rock, her wrists and ankles bound in chains. Her face was dirty and she looked worn. Circling her was a gigantic beast, resembling a giant snake, its mouth opened, and fangs as large as his mother, bared. Sally Jackson looked up, and seeming to notice Percy for the first time, called out to him. "Percy! Help!" Her voice was hoarse and her eyes imploring.

"Mom!" Percy finally knew how Annabeth had felt, but that wasn't what went through his mind at that moment. All he knew was that he had to get to his mother. He skidded across the water, which carried him swiftly to Sally, and his hand instinctively went to his pocket. Where was Riptide? His fingers curled around the pen. The gigantic beast glanced upwards and spotted him, hissing at the sight of the celestial bronze.

"Percy!"

"Hold on, mom!"

With all his might, Percy summoned a stream of water and sent it at the beast, hosing it in the face. He failed to even do so much as scar it. The beast thrashed and its pupils dilated in anger as it let out an earth-shaking roar. His mother struggled against her bonds.

"Percy, don't!"

Another female voice snapped Percy out of his reverie and he tore his gaze away momentarily to spot Annabeth in the water beside him, her hands clamped over her ears, which made it a little hard for her to stay afloat in the water. "It's not your mother-" Annabeth went underwater, but reemerged a moment later. "-turn away! Ignore!"

It was better said than done. Percy merely stared at Annabeth for a moment, his mother's screams echoing in his ears, before turning and riding off.

"Percy, no!" A moment later, "Rainbow!"

He was so close, so close. His mother looked relieved as he approached, but her expression quickly changed to that of fear as the beast roared again. He was almost there when...

His mother's screams were no longer audible. Percy shook his head to clear it, and saw Annabeth in the water before him, riding atop a hippocampus, her ears still clamped over her ears. He hurriedly formed a bubble of air around them, and Annabeth slowly uncovered her ears, shuddering.

"Sirens," She trembled. Percy couldn't help wondering what she had been seeing, as she had already been given the task of rebuilding Olympus.

"What are they doing here?" he wondered aloud.

"I think- I think your father conjured them," Annabeth said. "But they're not as strong as the real ones in the sea of monsters. I mean, they're easier to resist."

Percy wondered what easy meant, as he remembered his pursuit earlier. He and Annabeth began traveling together in the air bubble, heading towards the spot where the buoys probably were. Rainbow circled them excitedly. "How many?" he asked. "How many campers?"

Annabeth's brows knitted as she tried to figure out what Percy was talking about, before a knowing look dawned on her face. "Drew went," she said. "She swam towards them like crazy. Butch as well. I think they're both out for now."

"Travis and Pollux?"

"Last I saw they were on the boat, but I don't know what happened."

Percy did a quick mental calculation. Two out, that left 16 others. They continued traveling forwards in the bubble until they reached the underside of the buoy. Cautiously, they swam to the surface. The only sounds that greeted their ears were the waves. Annabeth hurriedly reached up and grabbed the red flag, which had a blue trident on it. She swam over to another buoy, and grabbed the one with an owl. "Got it!" she declared, a triumphant smile on her face, waving the flag at Percy.

"Hey, we aren't the first." Percy suddenly noticed a flagless buoy not far from the Athena one. Hephaestus. Jake?

"Let's head back," Annabeth said, clambering onto Rainbow's back, with Percy following suit. His energy had almost been drained from the sirens and the air bubble. The Hippocampus began slicing through the water, taking them towards the platform. They spotted a capsized lifeboat on their way.

"I hope Travis and Pollux are okay."

"I don't think my dad will let anyone die or get injured too badly."

Halfway to the platform, the water around them began to swirl, and Rainbow whinnied unappreciatively.

"What's going on?" Annabeth gasped.

"It's a whirlpool!" Percy cried out. "Rainbow, quick!"

The water funnel only a few feet away from them began to grow in size rapidly. Rainbow flicked his tail, trying to propel them away, but the currents were too strong. "Try to control it, Percy!" Her grip around the flag tightened. The last thing she wanted was for it to sail straight down the whirlpool.

Percy shut his eyes, trying to seize control of the waters surrounding them. There was that tug in his gut, but the water didn't seem to be responding. Come on, he urged himself.

"Percy, we're being dragged!" Annabeth's voice was accompanied by more whinnies from Rainbow.

The tug became almost painful as Percy willed the water to respond to his wishes, but he couldn't stop the whirlpool. Instead, he willed the currents to drag Rainbow as far away from the whirlpool as possible. The roar of the funnel that led to Hades knows where reverberated in his ears, but he ignored it. Slowly, the volume dropped, and upon opening his eyes, the whirlpool was still there, but he and Annabeth along with Rainbow were a good distance away.

"Good job, Percy," she said, and reached up to kiss him.

Tyson and the Athena campers cheered as Percy and Annabeth reached the platform. They climbed up with help from several nereids and were immediately supplied with towels. Rainbow swan off, looking for more campers to assist.

"Only two obstacles?" Percy couldn't help asking.

"Don't get too cocky," Annabeth said, but she was smiling.

Poseidon had a screen before him, that showed him the waters of Long Island Sound. At the edge of the screen there were red dots, which were probably the flags. Poseidon and Athena's had been claimed, along with Hephaestus. As Percy and Annabeth watched, they saw Hermes and Dionysus's ones being claimed.

"How's it going, dad?" Percy asked. Poseidon beamed at him.

"You did well, son," he said, before turning back to the screen and touching a spot on it, saving a Tyche kid.

#

No one was really in the mood for sing-alongs that night. After Percy and Annabeth had been declared tied winners, with Jake coming in second followed by Travis and Pollux, a second round of campers had gone, and Percy sat by his father's side, setting up water obstacles for the other campers, and sending help at random times. It was fun but what made it really exhilarating was watching his father as the latter observed the campers' progress towards the buoys. The only ones with enough energy left to actually sing were the younger campers who had been exempted from the competition. The rest merely wolfed down s'mores.

"Chariot ride tomorrow, eh, dad?" Percy asked his father.

Poseidon nodded, his sea-green eyes gleaming in the firelight. "And you're teaming up with the Athena girl, I suppose, just like you did today?" He smiled.

**Okay, this one got a little too long. But thanks for reading and for the reviews, favourites and follows! I hope this chapter was not disappointing... And the next one will be Poseidon's last day. **

** Reviews are most appreciated!**


	4. Poseidon: Day 3

The highlight was that the chariot race was in the evening. That gave the campers the whole morning and afternoon to work on their chariots, and Percy had a feeling that everyone intended to build a bajilion weapons on their chariots, but were debating if it was wise. Poseidon would be watching, and they didn't think harming Percy or sending instruments of injury at his chariot was going to be ideal.

"Think of this as just a regular chariot race, just like any other," Chiron had told them, but the fact that Chiron had to say that reminded them all the more of a god's presence and made them jittery.

Annabeth and Percy finished theirs by late afternoon. Apparently Poseidon had suggested the cabins pair up, like allies. This irritated the Ares campers, particularly Clarisse, who was looking forward to claiming victory on her own. Somehow seeming to be good buddies ever since the water race the previous day, Travis and Pollux agreed to team up, though Connor was a little disappointed he wouldn't be participating.

The race track was lined with torches that cast a dim, orange hue and the weather seemed pleasant that night, with a cool breeze, which Percy couldn't help wondering had something to do with his father. The campers who weren't participating (which included the entire Aphrodite cabin) gathered on the stone steps, buzzing with excitement, wondering how their siblings and cousins were going to pull off a race with two campers from two different cabins manning one chariot.

"Don't you think the darkness will give Nico an advantage?" Annabeth wondered aloud, as she stood by the chariot she had worked on with Percy. It was sea blue, but rimmed with grey and bore a trident crossed with an owl on the front. The other chariots bore similar designs; the Hermes-Dionysus one was green with patterns of grapevines painted on it. With the absence of Connor, Percy counted on fewer dirty tricks. Surprisingly, Apollo had teamed up with Ares, and at the moment, Clarisse was having a heated argument with Will.

Percy didn't reply. He wasn't entirely sure. Nico had picked to team up with a Hecate camper, and with death and magic, Percy shuddered, trying to imagine what they would come up with. Hopefully, the other chariots will deal with them.

"Charioteers! To your mark!" At the sound of Chiron's voice and the conch horn, the campers began to panic, doing last-minute adjustments to their chariots.

"Do you think there will be any, um, casualties today?" Percy couldn't help asking, as he and Annabeth brought their chariot to the starting line of the race track. He half-glanced at his father, seated in the front row of the audience, watching him and Annabeth with a knowing smile.

"I don't think your father will allow that, any more than he would have allowed any deaths during yesterday's race," Annabeth responded, though judging from the other campers' moods, there could be some injuries.

"Charioteers! Attend your mark!"

As soon as the starting signal dropped, the chariots surged forwards to thunderous cheering from the audience. Percy cast a quick glance over at his father, who was watching him. The sea god flashed a thumbs-up. Tyson was beside himself with cheering.

_Lord Poseidon's watching, young lord!_ the horses sounded nervous.

_Try not to think about it. Let's give it our best shot._ Percy secretly hoped the horses couldn't sense his anxiety.

There was a loud crash, and Percy was about to turn to see who it was, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of green, spindly objects snaking their way through the air towards his chariot. Hephaestus-Demeter had came up with metal cables painted green resembling vines. Percy would've mistook them as mere plants had he not been paying attention. The cables were about to loop themselves around the chariot's wheels but with a few quick swings of Riptide, Percy sliced them apart.

"Percy, duck!"

Annabeth's javelin went soaring over Percy's head and lodged itself in between the wheels of the Hephaestus-Demeter chariot, and with a sickening crack, the chariot nearly fell apart. The campers immediately began to argue about the chariot's mechanism or something along those lines, but they were soon out of earshot as Percy and Annabeth's chariot hurried forward, making a neat turn.

A few more crashes could be heard as they rode on, but Percy was too preoccupied on the lone chariot up ahead. How did Clarisse and Will get all the way ahead of them? Clarisse was driving the golden chariot pulled by skeletal horses like a crazed person, too focused on completing the lap. Will notched an arrow, aimed at Percy and the latter caught sight of a boxing glove pointing at him.

"Um, Annabeth, when did the Party Ponies and the Apollo archers become allies?"

Before Annabeth could answer, a chariot crashed into theirs, nearly tipping it over. Butch waved from the Iris-Nike chariot, as he rode forwards, while Percy manouevred to get their chariot back on all its wheels. It landed with a bump and Percy thought he heard a crack, but urged the horses forward. Ahead, Butch got knocked off his chariot by a boxing glove arrow.

"We're the last," Annabeth said, casting a glance over her shoulder. "Try catching up with Clarisse and Will."

The rhythmic pounding of hooves echoed Percy's beating heart. He couldn't lose, not with his father watching. Sure, Poseidon wouldn't mind at all, and would probably just clap his son on the back and told him he gave his best, but he was the Father of Horses. And as his son, Percy felt obliged to win at this sport involving horses.

_Can we go any faster? _

_As you wish, young lord!_

They were almost neck to neck with Iris-Nike, whom were tied with Apollo-Ares. Butch had managed to recover from the boxing glove, and as he dodged another one, it zipped past Annabeth's ear. Percy watched in amusement as Iris-Nike slammed into Apollo-Ares with so much force the crash seemed to echo in the night air. The Iris-Nike chariot began to crack and fall apart as Percy and Annabeth rode past. Clarisse, while cursing in Ancient Greek, was trying to manouvre the chariot back onto the race track as it careened towards the strawberry fields.

"We're leading!" Annabeth said, excitedly, having to yell in Percy's ear over the deafening roar of the crowd. Percy threw one glance over his shoulder at Clarisse and Will who were a short distance away. Turning back to face the front, he tried to offer encouraging words and promises of extra sugar cubes to the horses.

"Careful!" Another arrow with a boxing glove shot past Annabeth's head. They were mostly aimed for Percy, but Annabeth shielded him, deflecting more of the incoming arrows with a sword.

The finishing line was right ahead. Clarisse yelled out something that sounded like a strangled battle cry, but just as the Apollo-Ares chariot pulled up right behind the Poseidon-Athena one, Percy and Annabeth rode right over the finishing line.

#

Percy strolled along the beach with his father, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks on the beach breaking the silence. The chariot race had ended faster than was expected, probably due to the new campers' inexperience, but Percy and Annabeth had won the race, with Clarisse and Will coming in close at second. Poseidon had hugged Percy, offering congratulations and praise, Tyson had almost crushed him, but all the triumph he had felt during that moment was quickly dissipating. After dinner, Poseidon would have to return to Olympus, and a new god was arriving the following day.

Don't think about it, Percy told himself. Focus on something else. His eyes darted around before landing on a barnacle-covered rock.

"Percy..." Poseidon began.

"Hey, dad, why do you think everyone in the underwater world has an aversion to barnacles?" Percy knew it was probably rude to interrupt his father, but he couldn't have the latter talk about his departure which was due in about a couple of hours. "Or do some of them actually collect them? Can they be eaten?" Percy gave a nervous chuckle.

Poseidon gave his son a sympathetic look. Percy did his best not to meet the sea god's eyes. "Percy, you do know that we'll still be seeing each other in a month," he spoke. "It's not that long."

Percy took a deep breath. "Not that long?" he asked, a little incredulous. After three days, he was starting to get used to his father being around and had almost convinced himself that it was not part of some wonderful dream. He wanted to say more, but stopped himself, for fear of offending his father. Percy tore his gaze away and stared out at the view of the camp the beach afforded.

Poseidon sighed. "I'm sorry, Percy," he apologised.

They continued walking in silence for a few more minutes, before it was time for dinner.

#

The other campers were unusually excited that night, for everyone was wondering which god would be their guest for the next three days.

"Attention, everyone!" The chatter died down and everyone turned to face Chiron. "Tonight, regretfully, we say goodbye to Lord Poseidon," the centaur spoke. "But he will return in a month's time. Just as I had said on the morning of the first day, the gods will be taking turns.

These three days, for some, have been a blast. We've had a different type of training, one that is water-based. The chariot race held earlier promoted teamwork as it required two campers from different cabins to man one chariot." From the looks of the participating campers, the teamwork promotion hadn't exactly worked. "For now, let us honor Lord Poseidon, god of the sea, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses."

The campers all rose to their feet and bowed. Poseidon then turned to Tyson and gave him a hug. "I'll see you soon, Tyson," he said.

"Yes!" Tyson exclaimed, happily. "And I will make more weapons!"

As Poseidon turned to face Percy, the boy's heart sank. He gazed upon his father's face, those sea-green eyes, and the smile crinkles. He remembered the previous years, during which he had constantly wondered when he was going to see the god again. It was hardly ever bound to happen. But now, here it was, a new rule, allowing the gods to pay their children a short visit once a month. Percy couldn't help feeling that it was something to be grateful for. They walked back down to the beach, to send the sea-god off.

"Um, take care, dad," Percy spoke, unsure what to say. Poseidon smiled at him for a moment before pulling the boy into a tight embrace. Percy breathed in the scent of the sea that emanated from the god. As they broke apart, he couldn't help feeling a little teary-eyed.

"Goodbye, Percy." Poseidon said. A heartbeat later, he continued, "I love you, son. Don't ever forget that."

Percy nodded, his throat tightening. "Love you, too, dad."

Poseidon strolled towards the water, and a moment later, he was gone.

That night, as Percy settled in for sleep, trying to ignore the absence of his father in the bunk the god had chosen, he hung up a tiny calendar next to the Minotaur horn, and marked the date of his father's next visit. About 28 days to go. He was already looking forward.

** That's the end of Poseidon's first visit. I'm sorry if my writing has been awful, especially during the chariot race. I didn't want to make it too long. In the next chapter, Camp Half-Blood will be welcoming a new god! As usual, thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows, and for reading!**

** Reviews are appreciated. :-)**

** To readingaddict24: I'm trying to follow the cabin numbers, but he'll be along sooner or later. :-)**

** To : No, I'm only halfway through _The Lost Hero_.**


	5. Demeter: Day 1

Miranda Gardiner was at the end of her wits.

"TRAVIS AND CONNOR STOLL! I will make you regret you ever set foot in Camp Half-Blood!" she yelled across the green, startling several campers who were hanging out in the area. The two Hermes boys, however, were nowhere in sight, and were most probably back in their cabin, sniggering at the thought of all the chocolate Santa Clauses strewn all over the grass roof.

"Calm down, Miranda," Katie said, though she was gritting her teeth and silently cursing the Stoll brothers as well. The Demeter campers had heard rumours that their mother was to be the next god to visit them, and they had been busy preparing their cabin for her arrival. And not to mention stocking up on boxes of instant cereals. Nothing had been confirmed yet, but the kids weren't going to take any risks. It wasn't every day their mother dropped by for a visit, and now that she was finally coming, everything had to be in perfect order. Will, who was going around with the clipboard for cabin inspection, passed the Demeter cabin. Miranda gave him a look, as though daring him to give them anything less than a full score.

"Has the floor been swept? Plants watered? Garbage thrown out?" Miranda demanded, as the other campers scrambled around, checking under beds for any discarded sweet wrappers and quickly trying to conceal any dirty laundry. Despite being only cabin counselor during the winter when Katie was away, Katie had left Miranda in charge of the cabin clean-up.

"Miranda, it's time for breakfast," Katie spoke again, glancing towards the dining pavilion. Miranda took a deep breath before turning back to the campers. "Alright, y'all! Now, we don't know for sure if it's gonna be mom..."

"You don't know for sure?" called out an anguished camper.

"And you made us do all this?" another incredulous complain.

Miranda scowled. "She will most likely be coming," she said, putting much emphasis on 'most likely'. "We all know Lord Poseidon's Cabin #3. We're Cabin #4, so it only makes sense we're next."

The Demeter kids were constantly fidgeting, each of them anxious and jumpy. Unlike other more fortunate campers like Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, they hardly ever saw their mother. During the Titan War, they had been fighting, and not many of them went up to Olympus.

"And now, campers, we must welcome our next godly guest," Chiron announced, getting undivided attention from every camper before him. "Please welcome Lady Demeter, the goddess of harvest and agriculture!"

"I told you so!" Miranda hissed at her siblings as they got to their feet.

"And with her, Lady Persephone, goddess of springtime, and also queen of the Underworld." Chiron seemed a little uncomfortable.

Those words startled every demigod, and not just the Demeter campers. Lady Persephone, Demeter's daughter? Hades's wife? What was she doing in Camp Half-Blood? Surely it had not been Demeter's idea to bring along her other daughter? The Demeter kids exchanged stunned looks. They didn't have anything against her, of course, they were merely surprised. As usual, the ceremonial bows were carried out but chatter broke out again as soon as the campers were back on their seats.

"Hi, mom!" Katie waved as Demeter approached their table. The goddess beamed at her children. Her brown eyes then dropped to their plates and her smile faltered.

"You know, children, cereal should be your top pick when it comes to breakfast," she said. With a wave of her hand, the food on the campers' plates vanished and were replaced with bowls of steaming cereal. The Ares campers sniggered silently among themselves.

"Um, sure. Thanks, mom," Miranda spoke, unsure what to say. The Demeter kids who did not share their mother's passion for cereal looked displeased. They reluctantly picked up their spoons at Miranda and Katie's stares. Persephone was rolling her eyes and complaining to her mother about something, possibly the cereal, but Demeter didn't seem to be listening.

"Hey, is the cabin in perfect order?" Katie hissed at Miranda, as the latter scooped a dollop of cereal and dumped it in the former's bowl while Demeter was talking to Persephone and another one of her demigods.

Miranda looked pained. "The chocolate Santa Clauses are still there. Ugh, I'm going to strangle those Stoll kids!"

Katie glanced over at the Hermes table where Travis was eyeing her. He smirked as she looked at him. Unwillingly, Katie blushed. She quickly turned away and decided to strike up a conversation with her mom.

#

Demeter didn't have big plans for her cabin, but at least most of the ones she and Persephone had made didn't involve too much cereal.

"Why chocolate Santa Clauses, children? It's not Christmas, and too much chocolate is not good for you," Demeter commented, as they neared the cabin.

Miranda cast a dirty look in the direction of a cabin with a caduceus on its door. "It wasn't us, mom. We were pranked, again."

"Pranked?" Demeter raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "Well, let me guess... children of Hermes?"

The Demeter kids were no tell-tales, but they nodded. Demeter pursed her lips and looked thoughtful for a moment. Her children took a tentative step back, afraid they might have offended their mother, for some unknown reason. Finally, the goddess glanced at them with twinkling brown eyes. They did not mistake the mischievous glint in it which they hardly ever saw.

"What do you say we give them a taste of their own medicine, and some cereal?"

#

Adrenaline was quickly filling each Demeter kid; they had never been out past curfew before. Everyone was supposed to be in bed by eleven, but there they were, out of their cabin, dressed in their pajamas, hanging around the Hermes cabin near midnight. The harpies could easily swoop down and devour them, but none drew close due to Demeter's presence.

"Mother, is this even wise?" Persephone hissed, as Demeter held a finger to her lips, a sign for her children to stay down low and be as quiet as they could. The queen of the Underworld was no more a kid, like her demigod half-siblings were, but she thought this idea was ridiculous. Then again, her mother had never acted this way before. It could be the start of a change for the irritable goddess.

"Darling, stop sounding like Athena!" Demeter responded. "You're probably not eating enough cereal, poor child."

"Ugh." Persephone rolled her eyes, but at that moment, her mother issued a signal to the other demigods. They began to surround the large Hermes cabin.

_Fsssss_! _Crack_! Hissing sounds and cracks could be heard as plants took root and began to grow rapidly. Demeter watched her children with undisguised pride. One day, they could be almost as good as her. Almost. No one could ever be as good as a goddess. Noticing their mother's expression, they put more spirit into their chlorokinesis, and the plants and creepers shot up and began to snake their way around the Hermes cabin. Demeter's presence helped as well. One camper managed to prise open a window.

"What the-?" Travis Stoll woke with a start as something thin and slightly wet began to creep over him. "Snake!" He tried to reach for his lamp, but his fingers brushed the leaves of a plant. Plant? When did any of the Hermes campers ever taken an interest in gardening.

"What snake?" asked Connor, groggily, turning over onto his side. He opened his eyes to come face to face with a gaping Venus flytrap that seemed to be interested in trapping more than just flies.

Very soon, every Hermes camper was out of their beds, yelling about snakes in the dark and creepy monsters with leaves covering their hide. They could not get to their light switches, the shrubs seemed to be growing everywhere. The thin sliver of moon outside their window wasn't enough. The smell of damp earth and scents of forests filled the cabin, like someone had just doused the place with several tins of air fresheners. The temperature dropped a degree or two. Snatches of soft, suppressed laughs could be heard from outside the cabin through the window the plants were coming in.

"I've got this!" called out a camper, and flicked on a flashlight, which only emitted a faint glow. As the torch beam danced on the plants, he almost laughed out loud. At least, that was until a tendril reached out and began snaking its way around his body, binding him.

"What's going on?" moaned a Hermes camper, as Travis lunged forwards and grabbed the torch out of the other camper's hand and found the switch. When light flooded the cabin, they heard the faintest sounds of pattering feet, like kids running off. And on the wall at one end of the Hermes cabin, the vines were curled into words, that unmistakeably read:

_Look who just got pranked! Sincerely, Demeter cabin. P.S. Eat some cereal._

**Terrible, I know. But thanks for reading and favouriting as well as following! I can't really think what else Demeter would do with her kids; ideas are most welcome. **

** Please review. **


	6. Demeter: Day 2

The wood nymphs drifted in and out of their trees, perfectly at ease. This whole gods-visiting idea was pretty awesome to them, especially since that day they had the entire day off.

The Demeter cabin was cooking.

And yet, not a pan nor a wok could be seen sizzling atop stoves in the kitchen. Pots, however, replaced them, each one with water boiling within. And in the depths, some weird assortment of vegetables. Empty boxes of instant cereal lay in one corner, neatly folded up. They could be recycled or reused later, Demeter had said. On a long table at one end of the kitchen, bowls and bowls of steaming cereal were arranged, ready to be served. More boxes of cereal were being emptied into bowls, and the Demeter campers had already started working like Hephaestus's automatons.

""Rip, dump, add water, stir," Katie muttered to herself, as she ripped open a packet of instant cereal, dumped some into a bowl in front of her before picking up a thermos of hot water and adding a fair amount into the bowl, before stirring fast with a spoon. The bowl was then passed along to a camper who set it down on the table with the other bowls.

Miranda peered around the kitchen door, and grinned at her siblings working on breakfast for the entire camp. A couple of wood nymphs had volunteered to help, probably out of respect for the goddess of agriculture, who was helping as well, making about five bowls of cereal at once with just simple waves of her hand. "Is everything ready? The dining pavilion is almost full!"

"Almost there!" Katie called out.

#

"Where's everyone from Demeter?" Annabeth wondered aloud to her siblings as they filed into the dining pavilion. Every camper looked in surprise at the empty table as well. The Hermes campers heaved a sigh of relief, dark shadows under their eyes. They had stayed up almost their entire night, hacking away at the plants and shrubs in their cabin. Thankfully, they had been easy to dispose of, save for the ones Demeter herself had conjured up. And that morning, they were not looking forward to meeting those 'tree-huggers', as one Hermes camper stated.

"Probably still in bed," Connor grumbled, sliding into his seat. "Hopefully they stay away for breakfast." He glanced at Travis, who merely shrugged. Despite the ordeal they had gone through the previous night, Travis was still looking forward to seeing Katie.

There was something else in Chiron's eyes that morning. Something that looked almost like... amusement? "Dear campers, as a special treat from our visiting goddess and her children, they will be preparing breakfast," he announced. Instantly, the campers began to chatter among each other. Demeter and her children were preparing breakfast? Well, everyone knew the Demeter campers were good cooks! Stomachs began to rumble, but the Hermes cabin was suspicious.

"Breakfast!" announced a voice, and Katie came rushing into view, carrying a tray laden with steaming bowls of cereal. The tray had a label stuck to it that read 'Athena'. She hurried over to Annabeth's table and began serving. From the kitchen, more campers came, along with a couple of wood nymphs, all bearing trays with gods' names labelled on them. For some of the cabins, a few trips were required to serve them all. The Demeter campers who served the Hermes cabin received evil eyes from all of them.

Each camper's looks of anticipation vaporized quicker than monsters upon contact with Celestial bronze. Eyes widened at the sight of cereal bowls.

"Cereal? Yuck!" Drew from Aphrodite spat, wrinkling her nose.

"Ugh. No, just no," Clarisse shook her head. "Where's the meat?!"

"_Di immortales_," Annabeth muttered.

The satyrs, however, burst into applause and began to tuck in. Pollux shoved a spoonful into his mouth and made a face. Will from Apollo did the same and swallowed it as quickly as he could, almost burning his throat in the process. Chiron merely ate his, watching the campers, amusement written clearly on his face. Mr. D openly glared at his aunt. Persephone sighed. The Hermes cabin grimaced. Demeter's visit had been the worst for them so far.

The hubbub died down as Demeter came into view. The campers stood and bowed, and upon settling down once more, none dared to utter a word against cereal. Demeter took her seat at her table, oblivious to the glares and uncomfortable looks from the campers around her.

"A healthy breakfast!" she beamed at her children, who just returned pained smiles. Cereal for breakfast two days in a row... life was awesome.

There was silence, broken occasionally only by a whisper or two, until a young girl, probably no older than eight or nine, got up from the Apollo table with her cereal bowl in hand. All the demigods looked up and watched, eyes wide. Will was gesturing madly for his sister to return, but the little girl was oblivious. What was she going to do? Tell the goddess she hated cereal? She would be ashes in minutes. Or maybe transformed into some sort of plant.

"Lady Demeter..." she began, in a small voice that seemed to resonate in the quiet dining pavilion. All eyes were on her. The goddess turned to her, her brown eyes twinkling.

"Yes, dear?"

"Can I have some raisins in my cereal? It's so bland."

Every camper heaved a sigh of relief, but some wished she had excluded the last line. To their surprise, Demeter laughed, a soft, silvery laugh that reminded you of the whistling wind, waterfalls and birds chirping. She beamed at the Apollo girl and waved her hand over the bowl. Tiny, dark raisins appeared.

The girl thanked the goddess and returned to her table. Immediately, almost all the campers got to their feet and approached the goddess, demanding various condiments. Demeter waved her hand once more, and bowls of condiments, mostly raisins, honey and apricots appeared on each cabin's table. "Help yourselves," she said.

The cereal tasted so much better. Demeter turned to her children. "So, what do you think we should cook up for dinner tonight? Any ideas? You make burnt food offerings to the gods, don't you?"

The Demeter campers nodded. Miranda grinned. "I hope the gods like tomatoes and celery."

#

"What's up with the sacrifice?" Ares complained, on the verge of throwing up.

"Ugh, it smells like burnt celery," Aphrodite gagged.

"Probably because it is," Artemis said.

Most of the other gods were regarding the burnt offerings from Camp Half-Blood with distaste. There was much more that night, probably due to the campers losing their appetite at the sight of celery and dumping more than half of their plate into the braziers. Zeus, however, merely sighed. Of course, whenever his sister was involved, such things were bound to happen.

"Come on, it isn't so bad," Hestia smiled. She could almost hear the giggles of the Demeter campers at the thought of the vegetarian offerings everyone had just made.

**Thanks for reading, favouriting, following and the reviews! Okay, I'm almost out of ideas for Demeter now, and she has one more day to go. Anyone got anythin'? Feel free to make suggestions, not just for Demeter, but the other gods as well. Thanks for reading, once again! And I hope I didn't go overboard with the cereal thing. :-D Gotta love Demeter. Also, I have nothing against cereal (I actually kinda like it XP), and absolutely nothing against vegetarians (used to be one).  
**

** Please review.**


	7. Demeter: Day 3

**Special thanks to _Quarter-blood99_ and _Owlion12_ for their ideas!**

* * *

The campers groaned collectively as dishes of salads and fresh fruits were laid before them by the wood nymphs who were trying hard not to laugh at the campers' faces. However, there was a spark of hope. It was Demeter's last day.

Katie, Miranda and their siblings gazed at their food, not touching them, having been struck with a loss of appetite. Three days was definitely not enough. They couldn't believe Demeter was leaving soon, and though she would be back in a month's time, it was still a long way away. Miranda looked up from her salad bowl at the Ares cabin who were pulling faces at the 'rabbit food' and felt a twinge of annoyance. The goddess was nowhere in sight, apparently having gone to the woods with Persephone.

"What do you think mom's doing in the woods?" Katie asked, glancing in the direction of the clump of trees.

Miranda merely shrugged.

A son of Ares stood and surveyed the dining pavilion. Chiron was in a conversation with Mr. D, and none seemed to be paying any attention to the campers. Demeter and Persephone were nowhere in sight.

"FOOD FIGHT!" he yelled, getting the attention of the entire dining pavilion. Grabbing a handful of his salad, he tossed it at Clarisse, nailing her in the face.

"Hey!" Clarisse yelled, leaping to her feet. Brows furrowed in annoyance but with the slightest hints of a smile playing at the corners of her lips, she grabbed several potatoes and flung them at her half-brother, each one bouncing off his face with satisfying thuds. Soon, the entire Ares cabin was on their feet, flinging rabbit food at each other, and yelling triumphantly. The other campers watched them with wide eyes and slack jaws, some casting nervous glances around, searching for the goddess.

"Yeah! Food fight!" Travis declared, grinning, as he stuffed Connor's face with lettuce. The Hermes cabin erupted into cheers as the brothers began wrestling on the ground, each trying to stuff the other with vegetables. A moment later, the Apollo cabin began to join in the fun and pretty soon bits of salads and fruits were being thrown across the dining pavilion, smacking campers in the face. The only ones not involved were the Demeter campers, of course, the Athena cabin, who regarded those involved with disgust, the Aphrodite cabin, all of whom had fled, protecting their new hairdos as well as Percy Jackson, who was merely watching the fight. Chiron was mentioning something to Mr. D, who muttered something that sounded like 'brats'.

"ENOUGH!"

The shrill female voice that rang across the pavilion immediately brought the fight to a halt. Miranda was on her feet, her brows knitted and her face red. She gritted her teeth as her eyes seemed to brim with tears. "The least you can do for her visit is to show my mother some respect!" she yelled, before turning and storming off.

#

Miranda didn't know where she was going, but all she cared about was getting away from that pavilion. Katie ran behind her, calling out her name, but she hurried away, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Miranda was not one to shed tears often, but her mind flashed back to a conversation she had had with the goddess of agriculture the previous night in the cabin. Demeter had been so loving and motherly, and Miranda didn't want her to go. But it was her mother's last day. And all the other campers could do was show how much they despised Demeter's presence, all because she fed them food that was actually supposed to be good for them.

"Miranda?"

Miranda halted in her tracks. That voice didn't belong to Katie. She turned and came face to face with her mother, unaccompanied by Persephone. Demeter gave her a concerned look, and a brief moment of silence passed between them before Miranda lunged forwards and wrapped her arms around the goddess.

"I heard the food fight," Demeter said, softly. "Don't worry about it, dear. There are some people who simply have no appreciation for food that's good for them."

"It was just so disrespectful," Miranda spoke, hurriedly wiping away her tears on her orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. "Especially since you're leaving today and all..." she choked.

Demeter laid a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Miranda," she said. The goddess was at a loss of words. "I'll be back in a month. I know it's long, but..." she trailed off. Another silence hung between them, this one slightly longer than the previous one. Miranda had a staring competition with the ground. A moment later, Demeter spoke again. "Would you like to see what I have in store for you and your fellow campers this evening?"

Miranda looked up in surprise and raised an eyebrow. Demeter beamed. "Persephone and I have been working on it. A game that you, my children, can actually win."

#

Demeter was aware of the fact that her children weren't the best archers nor were they good at swordsmanship. They had chlorokinesis, but at times it wasn't enough. And it took a lot out of them.

The campers gawked at the labyrinth that had replaced the woods. Demeter had assured Chiron that the woods would be returned to them later, and that the labyrinth which had been constructed of tall hedges and shrubs, was only temporary. An Ares camper slapped his forehead. "Not another game. The ones with Lord Poseidon were bad enough," he remarked, earning him a look from Percy who stood nearby.

"Campers, gather round!" Chiron barked. "The rules of this game are simple. Each camper enters the labyrinth from different entrances with the rest of your cabin, and navigate your way through to the end, where you will have to collect a flag." Chiron smiled. "It's basically a game of Capture the Flag with a little twist." He smiled at his half-sister. "As usual, if you encounter campers from other cabins in the labyrinth, no maiming or killing is allowed. To your marks!"

The Hermes campers appeared to be the most uncomfortable. The labyrinth only served as a reminder to what the Demeter campers could do with chlorokinesis, and they weren't looking forward to facing shrubs and vines that seem to have a mind of their own. Katie grinned in a wicked way that Hades would've been proud of at Travis as they took their places at the entrances. Miranda glanced over her shoulder at Demeter who flashed her a thumbs-up. Persephone was muttering to herself beside her mother, probably counting the number of times her mother had not mentioned cereal that day.

The sun had sunk low in the sky and though the campers were used to traversing through the woods in the dark for Capture the Flag, they didn't fancy the idea of tall hedges and shrubs surrounding them, able to squash and suffocate them at any time. Especially since the game was orchestrated by the goddess of agriculture. Everyone shot the Demeter campers dirty looks. They had chosen to participate as one team alone, while other cabins had teamed up with each other. Hermes was with Apollo, Athena as well as Poseidon, which was basically Percy alone, and the others were with each other.

As soon as the conch horn sounded, the campers dashed into the labyrinth, some bursting with anticipation, others a little wary, but the Demeter cabin had never been this eager. The entrances closed behind them as they stepped in, trapping them in darkness. The walls of the maze were so high, the light from the moon above was almost blocked out.

"This is so unfair!" called someone from the Apollo cabin.

"Come on!" Miranda urged her siblings and they dashed deeper into the maze, taking random turns. They could hear other campers doing the same, as well as the sound of leaves rustling despite the absence of a breeze. They ran down a path and made a sharp turn to the right only to come face to face with Clarisse, wielding a sword.

She slashed at them, but Miranda jumped backwards and summoned the vines from the hedge and watched as they snaked out and around Clarisse's wrist, causing her to drop her sword as she cried out in pain. The Demeter campers turned and ran in the opposite direction.

"You should've just let it capture her whole," said one of them.

"I'm just trying to conserve my energy," Miranda stated. "I mean, I wouldn't want to run out before we get the flag, right?"

They passed a pretty disturbing sight of a camper struggling to get out of the wall, after having attempted to squeeze through and another of a camper bound in vines, crouching in a corner. "Watch out!" Katie called, all of a sudden, as creepers stretched towards them, catching hold of anything they could get, including hair.

"Help!" cried a younger Demeter camper, as the creepers wrapped around a section of her hair and dragged her towards the wall. Katie hurriedly stepped in, unsheathed a knife and began cutting away the creepers. Once the girl was free, they sped on and Miranda conjured up vines of her own to stop the creepers.

The deeper they got into the labyrinth, the darker it became. Shouts and yells could be heard once in a while from other parts of the maze, as campers got caught. "I hope mom had programmed these shrubs to not kill or strangle anyone," said a male Demeter camper, swatting away a vine with his short sword. The campers continued through the maze, jumping to avoid random roots that appeared out of nowhere, trying to trip them up, and vines and tree branches that tried to knock them off their feet.

"Oof!" Miranda glanced over her shoulder and skidded to a halt at the sight of one of her half-sibling being swallowed by a mass of vines after having tripped over a large tree root that was slowly retreating into the wall. Under normal circumstances, Miranda would've been impressed, but right there, in the maze with hardly any light, it was all starting to seem a little creepy. "Just go! I'll try to free myself and catch up! Go get the flag!" her captured half-sibling said, trying to wave away Katie who had her knife ready.

"Come on, Katie!" Miranda called, narrowly avoiding a creeper. The rest of the Demeter campers hurried off, casting last glances at their half-sibling, who was trying to conjure her own vines to tear apart the ones holding her captive. The demigods passed several Aphrodite girls being sucked into the wall, screaming about their precious hair. One of them was trying to charmspeak the hedge into releasing her, and it seemed to be working.

The campers took another turning and came face to face with two giant Venus flytraps that seemed didn't seem to feed on flies alone as it snapped at them. One of the campers swung a sword, but the plant caught the sword neatly between its teeth and seemed to 'swallow' it.

"That was my favourite sword," the camper sobbed, as Katie tried transforming the flytraps into trees.

"They're too huge!"

Just then, the head of one of the flytraps was severed from its stem and fell to the ground at the feet of the Demeter campers who jumped back in shock. They turned to see two Apollo archers, their arrows aimed at the giant plants. Another head was severed, but the flytraps merely reformed.

"Yikes! They're just like monsters!" screamed a Demeter camper.

"Try vines again!" Miranda called to Katie, who conjured vines that wrapped around the heads of the flytraps, keeping them shut. "Go, quick!" she called to the others and her half-siblings dashed past.

"Wait up!" the Apollo archers called, but Katie merely released her hold on the flytraps and ran after her siblings, ignoring the archers' calls.

"We're probably nearing the end," Miranda said, as they began to inch slowly along the darkest part of the labyrinth. Just then, a loud, rustling sound echoed behind them.

"Miranda, are the walls..." Katie trailed off, as all the campers sensed it and took off at top speed. The walls on either side began closing in, threatening to squash them. More tree roots appeared, and two of their siblings tripped and were lost in the walls of vegetation.

"Keep going!" Miranda urged, panting, as she leaped over another tree root, just as a vine slapped her in the forehead. It began to curl around her, but she turned it into a harmless stalk of paddy. Another 'oof' could be heard over the rustling, as another sibling tripped.

"Will they be okay?" Katie wondered aloud, almost slipping on a patch of wet grass. She grabbed the hedge to steady herself, but immediately creepers wrapped themselves around her wrists. She hacked them away as fast as she could with her knife before hurrying on.

"Mom wouldn't let anyone die in here!" Miranda called back. A moment later, they reached the end of the path, just as the walls closed fully, and stepped out into a circular clearing.

Everything was silent. Three flags hung limply in the centre of the clearing, ringed with patches of flowers that were emanating a scent so sweet they were tempted to pick them. The Demeter campers sniffed the air, savouring the scent, before beginning to feel drowsy.

Katie clamped a hand over her nose and mouth though it didn't do much to help, and began to edge her way towards the bushes. Her vision was already blurring, and her head spun, but she kept going, nearing the flags. She crossed the bushes and managed to grab the Demeter cabin flag before her knees buckled and everything went black.

#

"Katie? Hey, she's coming round!"

The first thing Katie saw upon opening her eyes was Miranda's beaming face, gazing down at her, along with Demeter's. Then she grew aware of a small group of campers cheering nearby.

"What happened?" Katie asked, sitting up. She was out of the labyrinth, but when she looked, it was already gone. In its place, the woods stood. Campers were milling about, glaring at the Demeter cabin. All of them were okay, though most bore leaves and twigs in their hair and on their clothes, which they were trying to rid themselves off. Others bore scars and small injuries that came from battles with each other within the labyrinth.

"You captured the flag," Miranda said, grinning. "Score for the Demeter cabin!" she cheered, and her half-siblings followed suit.

Katie turned to her mother who was watching in amusement. "No one died, right?" she asked.

Demeter laughed. "Of course not," she said. "I made it pretty easy, though, no dangerous creatures or monsters."

"Just crazy plants with minds of their own," Katie remarked. She tried to suppress her laughter as she passed the Ares cabin, all of whom looked like hybrid human-trees.

"They kept regrowing every time we cut them off! It's so unfair!" complained a camper. He glared at Katie as she walked past.

#

Demeter modified all the lyrics of the songs at the sing-along that night so that they were all singing about cereal, agriculture, spring, flowers and more cereal. Persephone was not present, and only returned after the sing-along ended.

"Spare me the shame," she told her half-siblings who burst into laughter.

A lump formed in Miranda's throat as she and her other siblings with Persephone made their way down to the Big House, where Demeter was having a short exchange with Chiron.

"Do you really have to leave, mom?" asked the youngest camper, as Demeter hugged each one of her children.

"Yes, dear."

"Will you visit us again?"

"Of course."

She kissed Katie on the forehead and turned to Miranda, as the others said their goodbyes to Persephone. "So, goodbye, mom," the camper said, swallowing hard.

Demeter pulled her demigod daughter into a tight embrace. "Even though we gods can't have any direct contact with our children till my brother made that oath, we still love you." Demeter wiped away a tear that dared escape Miranda's eyes. She glanced over at her other demigod children. "All of you."

Miranda nodded, as she and her mother broke apart. Demeter surveyed her children, gazing upon each of them. "Well, children," she said, smiling. "Remember, cereal is good for you. Consume more."

"Mother!" Persephone rolled her eyes, but her demigod half-siblings merely laughed, nodded and promised their mother they would take her advice, before having to turn away as Demeter and Persephone disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.

**Do tell me if you found this anti-climatic and a little too cheesy. Miranda might be a little OOC, and I apologise for that. **

** Ares will be next! I have several ideas on what he would do, but everyone's welcome to contribute! And thanks for reading, reviewing and favouriting! **

** Reviews for this chapter will be highly appreciated. :-)**


	8. Ares: Day 1

Clarisse sat on her bunk, sharpening her sword, but not quite paying attention. The cabin had been swept and cleaned the previous night, though it didn't really matter, and so she had been glad to get that off her mind. Punk rock music emanated from the landmines surrounding the cabin, causing several passing Apollo campers to grimace or glare at them. The air in the blood-red cabin was thick with anticipation as Clarisse's brothers arm-wrestled with one another, chattering nineteen to the dozen.

Clarisse didn't know what to make of this whole gods-visiting thing. She had seen how Demeter and Miranda got along, and deep down, she felt jealous. Demeter hardly ever interacted with her children and most of the quests she assigned them were, in Clarisse's opinion, lame. Clarisse had gone as green as the Demeter cabin's roof with envy at the thought of Poseidon and Percy. Why couldn't she have a similar relationship with her father? She didn't care about the bets everyone was taking, she knew her father was coming that day. And while her half-brothers were bursting with excitement, she only felt a growing sense of dread. The daughter of the war god gritted her teeth as she tossed her sword aside and began sharpening her knife.

"Clarisse, we should get down to the dining pavilion," Sherman, one of her half-brothers, called to her as cabin inspection came to an end and it was time for breakfast. Clarisse merely nodded, and remained silent. She didn't budge from her bunk till all the Ares campers had left and she was all alone. Finally, she sighed and left. The last thing she wanted to be was late for her father's arrival on his first day at Camp Half Blood.

#

Every camper was undeniably happy about the bacon and eggs that had returned to the breakfast menu. "I'm still trying to wash out the taste of that cabbage from my mouth," remarked one of Ares's sons, making a face, as Clarisse took a seat at the table. The others snickered and flashed sneers at the Demeter children.

There seemed to be a problem that morning, however. The campers kept glancing at Chiron, expecting him to start announcing the next godly visitor, but he didn't. In fact, he was looking as confused as everyone was, occasionally glancing at the sky as though the due god might materialize, which wasn't entirely impossible. Hope was starting to flicker inside Clarisse. She wasn't ready to meet her father. Maybe he wasn't going to show up. But if Zeus had taken the oath... Well, maybe it could be a different god.

Just when breakfast neared its end and everyone had gone with the idea that no god was visiting them this time, there came a loud roar that seemed to have originated from everywhere around them. Out of nowhere, a Harley Davidson chopper motorcycle with a flame pattern paint job, a leather seat made from human skin, and shotgun holsters riveted to the sides appeared and screeched to a halt right by the dining pavilion. The rider got off, and the campers got a good look of him. He wore black jeans and combat boots and sunglasses. His cheeks were scarred and he sported an oiled crew cut. He seemed to radiate power and strength as he walked up to Chiron.

"Campers!" Chiron called. "Please welcome Lord Ares, the god of war."

Before Chiron had finished uttering the god's title, the campers were already bent low. There was something about Ares that terrified them. Clarisse gripped her knife for support, so hard her knuckles turned white.

As the campers settled down, the sons of Ares immediately turned to each other and began arm-wrestling again, or started discussing war strategies, in a way that would've impressed the Athena kids. One camper seemed to be engrossed in Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' while a couple of others compared weapons. Clarisse sat alone, finishing the last of her bacon sandwich, as her godly father approached the table. He glared for a moment at the Poseidon table, where Percy glared back, before turning back to his children.

"How're my boys?" Ares thundered, clapping a couple of arm-wrestling sons of his on the back, causing them to wince a little at his strength. But they immediately pulled on tough-looking faces once more. No fear, no pain. "Anyone up for a little duel?"

"Count me in!" Mark volunteered.

Ares's eyes scanned his children and rested on Clarisse. She was watching her brothers, but not quite daring to meet her father's eye. Yes, she had slayed the drakon. But to Ares, that was probably ancient history. Maybe it was best not to say or do anything, except pick as many fights as she liked and punch as many people as she wanted to. She didn't want her father to start yelling at her or pointing out her flaws again.

"Clarisse."

Clarisse reluctantly looked up. "Walk with me." His tone was firm, and she knew better than to argue. As Clarisse got up, she shot a glance at the Hermes table, where Chris had been watching her intently. He gave her an encouraging nod as she hurried after her father, who was striding away from the dining pavilion and towards the cabins.

"Clarisse, my daughter, the drakon-slayer," Ares spoke, placing a hand on his demigod daughter's shoulder. "What in Hades makes you think I am not proud of you?"

Clarisse almost forgot about that part. All-knowing gods. If only some things could be kept out of their all-knowing range.

"Well, compared to all the battles you've won and my brothers have won, it really is nothing. One drakon is no big deal in comparison. And my other fights against the puny campers don't count," she said.

Ares's expression was indecipherable, what with the shades. Clarisse could make out the beginnings of a frown on his brows and a ripple of fear coursed through her. "Clarisse," her father spoke again. "Yes, I know I've gotten mad at you before, deemed you unworthy and pathetic because you're a girl, but... you are as good as any of my sons."

Clarisse swallowed, unsure what to say. "T-thank you, father." She hoped the campers weren't leaving the dining pavilion just yet. The last thing she wanted them to see was this weak side of hers, when facing her father. She would never hear the end of it.

"There is no need to draw comparisons," Ares went on. "You..." He jabbed a finger at her. "... will forge your own path. The golden fleece, the drakon, that was just the beginning. But I am still proud of you."

Clarisse couldn't suppress a smile. "Thank you, father," she said again, her voice regaining the confidence it often reeked of.

The campers began to file out of the dining pavilion. "Well, father," she said, with a full smile. "It's time for 'Sword and Shield with Clarisse'." She gestured in the direction of the arena.

Ares grinned. "Let's show them how it's done."

#

None of the campers (save for the Ares ones) looked comfortable when Ares and Clarisse walked in. Some of them had picked up their swords and shields while others were still busy putting on their armor. "Alright, everyone! Pair up!" Clarisse barked out an order and under the watch of the war god, they hurried to find partners.

"Wait just a second," Ares spoke, and everyone stopped in their tracks as the war god turned to face his daughter, who was slightly startled. "Well, daughter, how about a friendly duel between the two of us? We'll show them what real fighting looks like."

Instantly, the colour drained from Clarisse's face. If she had known that, she would've slapped herself. "F-father? Are you serious?" There was no way she could sword-fight a god. And the god of war at that. Her own father.

"A friendly duel, Clarisse. Not to the death," Ares said, his voice adopting a dangerous edge. Clarisse could only managed a small nod. She wasn't one to back down from a fight, but this was a challenge from her father. Even the Hermes campers weren't snickering at her sudden change in nature.

Clarisse grabbed a sword as Ares made one materialize in his hand. The demigod gulped. Hopefully the swords were of equal caliber and her father hadn't summoned up Excalibur or some other invincible sword. The other campers backed away, leaving a wide space for the father-daughter duel. Chris crossed his fingers and debated on uttering a prayer to Nike for Clarisse's sake. But her father wouldn't injure her too horribly, would he? "He's a coward," Percy muttered from somewhere behind him.

When Ares's sword sliced downwards through the air, Clarisse's ADHD made her leap out of the way. Ares was quick, however, and as soon as Clarisse had recovered, she parried away an attack and continued doing so as Ares slashed dangerously at her from all sorts of angles. Celestial bronze clanged against celestial bronze, ringing in the ears of the campers as they watched, slack-jawed, as Clarisse successfully parried, ducked or avoided each one of her father's attacks, but seemed to be growing more and more worn out by the minute. Adrenaline coursed through the girl's body and her heart pounded so hard she was almost sure her father could hear it. He would probably think she was weak.

Both the fighters were equally matched, though some of the Ares boys were certain their dad was just testing their sister. Once or twice she would attack, but Ares would almost knock her sword out of her hand. Several times the tip of the blade would make contact with Clarisse's face or skin showing through the armor, leaving small scars.

"Come on, girl," Ares said, through gritted teeth. He swiped at Clarisse's face and she deflected it again. She rolled out of the way of another strike, and spotting an opening, went for it.

Ares looked livid as ichor coated the tip of Clarisse's sword, but there was something else about Ares's expression. Clarisse didn't have time to decipher it, as she continued deflecting his attacks, throwing in a few of her own. She had no water to help her like Percy had. But she didn't need it.

Clarisse took a deep breath as her father struck again, and with brute strength, she deflected his blade, and took a swipe that grazed the side of his neck, startling the god. The wound wasn't major as Clarisse hadn't meant to truly injure, but ichor leaked from it.

Ares lowered his sword, and Clarisse's fear began to return. She had drawn blood- ichor, when it had supposed to be only a friendly duel. And she had not been injured save for her aching arms. The god of war traced the wound on his neck, and glanced at the ichor on his fingers. He looked up at Clarisse, his expression unreadable. She prepared herself to be transformed into a bug, a lizard, or maybe a boar...

And then Ares broke into a huge grin. He clapped her on the back, making her knees buckle slightly. "And this is why you will definitely forge your own path," he spoke. Clarisse was too stunned. The god of war turned to the campers. "Let's have a round of applause for Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares!"

There was a short moment of stunned silence before the campers began applauding. The applause sounded weird and awkward, but Ares seemed satisfied. "And now, for my sons!" He turned to his demigod sons, whose eyes widened in horror. Clarisse glanced down at her sword, her mind reeling. She had been confronted by her father only to hear him mention that he was proud of her drakon-slaying. He had challenged her to a duel, and despite knowing he was testing her and fought at her level, she had won. She glanced at him addressing her brothers. Ichor still seeped out from the wound but Ares didn't seem to notice it.

"Father, wait just a second," Clarisse spoke up, all of a sudden. She turned to the Apollo campers, and they immediately knew what she wanted to ask. "Apollo cabin... know any remedies for gods?"

* * *

**This just topped the list of terrible chapters, I suppose. I should've included more from the sword fight, I know, but I'm just not familiar with swords, sorry (have only ever done fencing). :-P And Ares may seem a little OOC, but I think Clarisse deserves some love.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think and if you have any suggestions regarding ideas for future chapters or how I could improve, feel free to voice them!**

* * *

**To Ryaaaaann: I can't wait to write his visit, either. :-)**

**To Percabeth4eva: Yes, some parallels from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Well, I guess with a maze and Demeter's chlorokinesis, it was kind of expected. And also because I'm a very uncreative person. But thanks for pointing that out!**

**To ArcusIgnium: Apparently she's only cabin counselor during the summer, as she's not a year-rounder while Miranda is. According to Wikia and many other sources.**

** To Quarter-blood99: Oh yes, they're like best buddies. ;-) I'll probably incorporate Percy in the next chapter. **

** To Guest: Thanks for reading! **


	9. Ares: Day 2

The interior of the Ares cabin had a large wrestling mat laid out on the floor and the bunks were pushed up against the wall, allowing space for the occasional wrestling competition. The campers could hang out on their bunks while watching and cheering, and one of them had dubbed the place as the 'Ares Cabin Arena'.

"Are you okay, father?" Clarisse couldn't help asking at breakfast, though Ares's wound seemed to have disappeared. She tried to push the concern out of her voice; concern probably made her look pathetic.

Ares shot her a small smile. "It was nothing major. And the Apollo medics are actually pretty good at this stuff. I must make a mental note not to harass their father too much." He smirked. "Anyway, nothing like a good helping of ambrosia and nectar couldn't cure." He gulped down a goblet of the aforementioned drink, and one of his children looked at him enviously. He secretly liked nectar but over-consumption would only kill him.

"So, what are we doing today, father?" Clarisse asked, bringing a knife down in a stabbing motion and cutting her sausage clean in half.

A smirk crept onto Ares's scarred face and half his children felt unnerved. What was their father planning. "Time to drop the swords," he said. "We're going to fight the traditional way today."

"Traditional?" asked Sherman. Wouldn't traditional involve swords or some other weapons?

"Hand-to-hand combat," Ares explained. "It might not be much against monsters, but I expect each one of my children to actually be able to hold their ground, if not win, a sparring match."

Clarisse nodded, smiling slightly. Hand-to-hand combat? She excelled at that. Memories of her days before Camp Half-Blood flooded her mind. She had lost count of the number of noses she had broken. Glancing over at some of her brothers who could only handle weapons, she couldn't help feeling sorry for them.

"Where, father? The arena?"

"No, the cabin would be just fine."

#

"Alright, split yourself into two groups. Remember, this isn't to divide you, and is merely a friendly match," the god of war commanded, sending his children scurrying from one end of the room to another, scrambling onto bunks, taking sides. Some of them couldn't help glancing at the spot on Ares's neck where he had been slightly wounded during the previous 'friendly match'. And cue nervous glances at Clarisse.

"Who's up, first?" Ares gazed at all the campers. "Any volunteers?"

"Me, father," Clarisse spoke up, getting up and striding to the centre of the wrestling mat. A moment later, Mark got up from his own bunk.

"And me," he said, smirking at Clarisse.

Ares sat himself down on a chair some of his sons had quickly prepared. It sort of resembled his throne on Olympus. "Well, show me what you've got."

Clarisse balled her fists and brought them up to her face, as Mark did the same. They began circling each other, not taking their eyes off one another, before Mark struck.

His hips snapped to throw a roundhouse kick aimed at Clarisse's face, but his sister anticipated that and snatched up his kick, making Mark teeter off-balance. Clarisse locked her hands together behind her brother's back and forced Mark to the ground. The Ares campers cheered as Clarisse pinned Mark to the ground. Clarisse feigned throwing in a few punches, before Ares broke them up. As much fun as it was to watch them fight, the last thing he wanted to do was split up his children.

A couple of manoeuvres and Mark had Clarisse under a secure under-hook. She gritted her teeth and brought her elbow up and wedged it between Mark's neck and shoulder, before backing out of the hook. More cheers from the campers.

"Go Clarisse!"

"Come on, Mark!"

Clarisse tried a roundhouse kick, but Mark, not wanting to be humiliated any further, caught it, stepped inwards, grabbed Clarisse's shoulder and sent her onto the mat. Before he could do anything else, his sister rolled out of the way and leaped back onto her feet. Both siblings were now bouncing up and down on the balls of the feet, their hair tousled and heart pounding, but they were enjoying it.

Mark cracked a smile and threw a left hook, but Clarisse dropped into a crouch, narrowly avoiding the hook as it brushed the top of her hair and pulled back her fist before landing her own hook to Mark's kidney. Her brother grimaced and she continued with an uppercut straight up the middle. Keeping up her momentum, she threw another hook to the side of Mark's face, albeit lightly.

"Woo, Clarisse!" cheered one of the campers.

The siblings returned to standard fighting stance before Clarisse decided to go easy on Mark and threw a hook. Mark crouched, avoiding it, just as she expected, but the next thing he did caught her a little off guard. He wrapped both arms around Clarisse's waist, securing a body-lock. And she returned to the mat.

"Score for Mark!" called out a camper.

"One last round," Ares said.

Clarisse took a deep breath. Though it was only a friendly match, she couldn't lose this one. Not even if it was against her own half-brother. She threw a right cross at Mark's face, but he avoided it and sent a hook into the exposed side of her body. Clarisse gritted her teeth and tried to block the next uppercut that came, but it hit part of her chin and before she could recover, Mark threw another cross, almost making contact with her nose, but she managed to evade it before throwing in a cross of her own. Mark, however, slipped the punch, dropped and got Clarisse in another body-lock.

"Aargh!" Clarisse grimaced, as Mark sent her to the ground. The campers cheered for Mark, but shot Clarisse sympathetic looks.

"Well, good match, little sis," Mark smirked, holding out his hand to help Clarisse up. She slapped it away, got to her feet and straightened her clothes and hair.

"You got lucky," she sneered.

Ares walked over to the two of them, but he seemed more amused than angry. "Good match, guys!" To their surprise, he flashed a thumbs-up. "Though it was pretty boring to me; but then again, you're siblings. Can't have you beating each other up."

"We do that in the arena every day," Clarisse muttered, but if Ares heard it, he didn't respond. If she had been allowed to, she would've pummeled Mark to a pulp in the first round and bring the match to an early end.

"Who wants to go against Mark?" Ares called to his other demigod children. They responded by turning to each other and pointing to one another. Clarisse silently sneaked out of the cabin. Her demigod siblings were too busy cheering for Sherman who had volunteered, to notice her going.

#

"I suck," Clarisse muttered, kicking at a stone. She wandered around the empty cabins, occasionally hearing cheers erupting from her own. The last round always mattered. That's when you'll make an impression. And all she had done was get distracted and made a fool of herself before her father. Hand-to-hand combat was probably the simplest, and yet she couldn't even defeat her own brother. So much for a drakon-slayer.

"Hey, Clarisse."

Clarisse looked up and immediately narrowed her eyes. "What do you want, Percy?" she snapped, turning away. Ever since he had helped her with the chariot, they had almost became friends, but that was just too embarrassing for Clarisse to acknowledge.

Percy looked from the Ares cabin, to Clarisse and back again. "Is something wrong?"

"Can't a poor demigod have a moment of peace?" she groaned.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're sitting right outside my cabin."

Clarisse glanced over her shoulder. Oh, right. Getting to her feet, she marched off towards Zeus's cabin, but Percy grabbed her arm, catching her by surprise.

"Really, Clarisse, is something wrong?"

Clarisse glared at him, but before she could reply, a firm voice spoke.

"The only thing wrong here is you."

Though it had been about four years, Ares had not forgotten his first battle with the sea god's brat. But then again, to an immortal god, four years was pretty much like four minutes.

"Clarisse, return to the cabin. We don't associate ourselves with losers," the god of war said, glaring at Percy, as he steered Clarisse back towards the red cabin.

"Nice spot of parenting!" Percy called after them. As much as he hated Ares, he nearly slapped himself for making that remark. Stupid ADHD. Ares turned and gave him such a horrible glare the sunglasses started smoking.

"You dare-"

"Father." Ares's attention was redirected to Clarisse at the sound of her voice. As much as she found Percy annoying, she didn't fancy the idea of her father turning him into a pile of ash. "Let's just get back to the cabin."

Ares threw Percy one last glare before reluctantly turning and returning to the red cabin. Sherman was now having a face-off with one of the half-sisters, whom, despite her scrawny appearance, had remarkable strength. The thud seemed to echo throughout the cabin as Sherman was judo-flipped onto his bottom.

The campers were too engrossed in the sparring match between Sherman and their sister and didn't seem to notice Ares re-entering with Clarisse. The god of war turned to his daughter.

"You know what's your problem, Clarisse?" he said, in a low voice.

Clarisse paled slightly. "N-no, father. But I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologise for!" Ares sounded a little mad. "Your problem, Clarisse, is that you're too much of a perfectionist. You have to stop trying to impress me, and just give your best shot in everything you do. And win or lose, I'll still be proud of you. And don't you forget or ignore what I told you yesterday."

Before Clarisse could respond, more cheering erupted from the campers, louder than ever, as Sherman managed to send their sister to the ground. Ares gave Clarisse a look, one that was almost undecipherable, before striding back towards his chair.

* * *

** Thanks a lot for reading, seriously. If you think I'm going overboard with the Ares-Clarisse moments, do tell. Feedback will be highly appreciated! And the sparring scenes in this chapter were taken from both a book and real-life experience (I love martial arts XD) **

** Anyway, the following day, Ares is gonna do something with all the campers... muahaha.  
**

* * *

** To SnowleopardDeBaws: I'll be going in order of the cabin numbers, so Hades's visit will probably be somewhere near the end.**

** To Owlion12: I'm sorry, but what? XP**

** To Jayme: Thanks for the suggestions!**


	10. Ares: Day 3

**Credit to Jayme for the 'sword competitions or weapon making challenges' suggestions. As weapon-making may take some time and seems more like a Hephaestus thing, I decided on a competition. **

* * *

Both days of his visit, the god of war hadn't organised anything that involved all of them and this was what really made the campers jittery. They could only guess he was planning something big, something that would involve all of them killing each other.

"So, all they have to do is demonstrate what they can do?" Clarisse asked, as she strolled to the arena with her father, clutching Maimer (or 'Lamer').

Ares shrugged. "Or it could be a full-blown competition. It's up to you, really." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "You're in charge today, Clarisse. Competition or demonstration?"

Clarisse's eyes lit up and there was the briefest evil glint in them. "Competition, definitely." she smirked.

#

The arena looked like it had been transformed into an armory. Almost every weapon from the real armory had been brought out and set in the arena. Targets had been erected here and there. The campers filed in, looking around in a daze. They had been briefed earlier during breakfast about the event of the day- a weapon competition, to determine which camper was the best at which weapon.

"Just a ploy to give the Ares campers a reason to feel all high-and-mighty," Drew from Aphrodite spat. "Everyone knows weapons are their forte." Her half-siblings looked worried; they had never really taken part during training sessions and weren't entirely sure about the weapons.

"Campers!" Chiron's voice echoed throughout the arena. The campers were taking their seats in the bleachers, members of the same cabin huddled together in groups. Ares sat in the front row, with his children behind him, looking eagerly at all the instruments of death and torture. His children was sure to triumph in this competition. "The rules are simple. Lord Ares will pick a weapon and each cabin must send forth a member to demonstrate what he or she can do with that particular weapon. And the one who appears to possess the best command over a certain weapon will be picked by the god himself. The cabin with the largest number of winning campers will win the overall competition. Good luck."

The campers immediately began chattering nervously among themselves, pointing out the various weapons and assigning them to each one of their cabin members, according to their strengths. Percy had originally been furious with Ares, as he was the only member of the Poseidon cabin, but Clarisse had suggested he team up with other cabins with few members. Nico di Angelo had been more than happy to join Percy.

Ares stood up and pointed out the first weapon. "Sword-fighting!" he announced. The Apollo campers paled; they didn't have many good swordsmen. They were archers, not fighters. Clarisse confidently leaped from her seat on the bleachers and landed cat-like on the floor of the arena before hurrying forwards to grab a sword. Percy came with Riptide, while campers from other cabins looked less confident, wielding their own swords.

"Who are we battling against?" Percy wondered aloud, but his question was answered a moment later when Ares waved a hand and from the ground, dead Confederate soldiers rose, but each one had been given a sword as well, instead of their usual weapons. Clarisse turned to face hers, a tall burly guy. On Ares's mark, metal began to clang against metal as the sword fight began. The campers in the bleachers began to cheer for their own cabin mates.

Loud clattering sounds could be heard as the campers from the Demeter and Apollo cabin had their sword knocked out of their hands by the soldiers who surprisingly had good command over swords, probably due to Ares. Before they could be struck down, Chiron ushered the defeated campers to the side of the arena.

Anaklusmos found its way into the heart of a soldier, who dissolved, but Percy turned to face two more rising. Two? Ares was definitely doing this on purpose. He wanted to see how Clarisse and the others were doing, but couldn't afford to take his attention of the two glinting blades in the two soldiers' hands.

Clarisse ducked out of the way and drove her sword into the side of a soldier. As he disappeared, she was confronted by another, and parried his strike in the nick of time. She gritted her teeth and shook a strand of hair out of her face. Every camper could tell by the look on her face that despite this being just a small competition, Clarisse meant business. A few more slashes, two more soldiers went down.

After ten minutes, the only ones left were Percy and Clarisse. Ares stopped the soldiers and ordered his daughter to battle the son of Poseidon.

"Are you serious?" she could hear Percy mutter under his breath. Annabeth cast a dirty look at the god of war and crossed her fingers. "Come on, Seaweed Brain" she murmured.

As Percy took his stance and gripped Riptide, he could see a flicker of doubt and fear cross Clarisse's sweaty face. He noticed the briefest of a glance being thrown towards her father. His mind flashed back to several years before when he had seen how afraid Clarisse had been when her father was chiding her on the CSS Birmingham.

Percy tried to make his slashes not look so sloppy, but at the same time, giving Clarisse the upper hand. She found him surprisingly easy to defeat.

"You didn't have to do that, Percy," she sneered, as his sword went clattering across the floor of the arena and the Ares cabin erupted with cheers and applause.

"Do what?" Percy asked, innocently.

As Clarisse returned to the bleachers, she couldn't help wondering if her father had noticed Percy going easy on her. Well, of course he would have. If she noticed it, he, the god of war, would have seen it as though Percy was holding up a banner that read 'I'm just gonna let your daughter win!' Clarisse clenched her fists, fuming. Somehow she knew that Percy wanted to spare her the embarrassment of losing a sword fight in front of her father, but it had just turned out wrong.

Ares gestured at the second most common weapon. "Archery!" he announced.

The Apollo campers were more than happy to send forth Will Solace, their cabin counselor and one of the best archers in the camp. The Ares cabin, however, had a member who was pretty competent as well. Percy and Nico, who had teamed up with the children of the rest of the minor gods sent down a camper from Nike.

The targets, however, were not used. More soldiers rose from the ground and began charging towards the archers. Will was the first to respond, by sending an arrow into the heart of an approaching soldier, turning the undead creature into dust. Quick as lightning, he drew another arrow from his quiver, nocked and sent it flying at another soldier. More were approaching him and he shot them all into dust.

The other campers were not so lucky, being run over by soldiers before they could draw any arrows, but Clarisse's half-brother managed to take down a couple of soldiers before fighting off those who came too close with his bow like it was a sword. Unfortunately, the bow snapped in half, and Will was the only camper who advanced to the second round of archery, one that involved the targets. His first arrow hit the bullseye, and as everyone expected, the second split the first right down the centre. However, when the third one did the same to the second, the watching campers couldn't help applauding and cheering, glad to see a winning camper who was not from the Ares cabin. The latter weren't too pleased, but their father seemed impressed with Will.

"Maybe there is more to brother Apollo than lousy poetry," he muttered under his breath, absent-mindedly fingering the spot on his neck where he had been slashed by Clarisse. Chiron noticed this and smiled. Perhaps, this whole gods-visit thing might not only bring campers and their Olympian parents closer, but also the Olympians themselves.

The next event was the javelin, which an Ares camper won, with Malcolm from Athena coming in at a close second. Following that was fighting with a knife, in which Annabeth triumphed. The entire Athena cabin rushed down from the bleachers and carried their half-sister on their shoulders. Following that were throwing axes, in which many of the campers staggered and fell, while the daughter of Ares who volunteered sent several into the heads of the zombies. In throwing knives, the Apollo campers snagged the winning spot, being good with missile weapons. Next were weapons most of the campers had never heard of and had no clue how to use them, while the Ares campers seemed to be able to adapt and learn quickly, swinging the foreign weapons around in no time.

"And now..." A silence fell over the weary campers as the event drew to and end. Chiron surveyed them with a small, amused smile, before continuing, "The cabin with the largest number of winners is..."

"Ares, definitely," Percy muttered to Nico, rolling his eyes. Nico had been impressive in the knife-fighting event, but most attributed it to him being a son of Hades and having power over the dead.

"Ares!" Chiron announced, and instantly, the Ares cabin responded with loud cheering and whooping along with thumbs-down being flashed at other campers. Chiron looked down at the card on which he had tallied the scores. "Well, coming in second would be the Apollo campers..."

Loud cheers came from the children of the god of archery.

"... and third, Athena." The god of war smirked slightly at the mention of his half-sister. This just proved that his children were better than hers in terms of combat.

"And your reward would be..." Chiron went on. "... extra s'mores at the campfire tonight!"

#

"I suppose you saw what Percy did," Clarisse said, flatly.

"I expected it from him."

Clarisse looked down at the ground, wishing it could open up and swallow her.

The Ares campers were celebrating when their father and half-sister returned to the cabin. Ares flopped onto his chair and faced his children with a satisfied grin. "Good job out there, kids," he said. "Just work more on the archery." He couldn't help sighing. Despite being the god of war, Apollo was specifically the god of archery and that made things a little harder. "Now, let's talk about..." Ares racked his mind for a subject of discussion. It was his last day. He was returning to Olympus that night. He was about to start talking about the mountain when a different image crossed his mind. Aphrodite. Ares had been throwing dirty looks at Aphrodite campers during the entire duration of his stay. His grin widened. "... your love lives!"

Almost instantly, more than half the campers went red, including Clarisse. Those who didn't cocked their eyebrows. "Hey, dad, can you help me hook up with that beauty from Aphrodite?" one of them called.

"Why don't you tell us about Lady Aphrodite herself, dad?" called out another, and immediately, there was a murmur of assent from the campers. Clarisse redirected her attention out of the window. As much as it was fun to hear about her father's love life with Aphrodite, it reminded Clarisse too much about a certain daughter of Aphrodite...

Ares chuckled. "Alright, now, there was one time..."

#

Most of the campers had been awaiting the night with much anticipation. They were just glad to know Ares was finally leaving. And they didn't quite fancy the idea of him returning in a month's time. Well, there was always a spot of bad in every good.

Feeling a little stuffed from the extra s'mores that night, the Ares cabin slouched down to the dining pavilion, beside which their father was waiting by his war chariot, which was in chariot form. The campers who had not seen it gaped at the pictures of people dying painful deaths decorating it and some gazed, slack-jawed at the fire-breathing horses.

"I'll see you lot in a month's time, then," Ares said to his kids, as each one went up and gave him a hug. His voice sounded less harsh than usual, and seemed to have adopted a much gentler tone, which surprised some of his kids, especially those who had came to fear him, but they knew better than to comment. Clarisse was the last to approach her father.

"Remember what I said, girl," Ares told her, as she hugged him. "And you're as good as any son of mine. Also, have fun with that Chris boy from Hermes." Ares winked.

Clarisse nodded, her throat tightening, but she couldn't help going red at her father's last remark. A moment later, Ares got onto his chariot and his children were forced to shield their eyes as their father assumed his immortal form. When the light died, they were standing alone by the dining pavilion.

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** Thanks for reading! Athena's visit will be next, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to voice them! Please leave a review. **


	11. Athena: Day 1

Annabeth sat cross-legged on her bunk, gazing at more of Daedalus's ideas on the laptop. There were so many of them, and all of them were so good, but she knew there was no way she could bring it all to life in this lifetime of hers. What a waste. Annabeth was just studying a blueprint of an elaborate temple to Athena when Malcolm rushed into the cabin, looking flustered.

"Annabeth!" he called, his eyes surveying the cabin.

Annabeth looked up. Her half-brother was usually cool and composed, but he was panting like he had run a hundred miles and his eyes were wide with panic. "What's going on?" Annabeth sprang to her feet, reaching for her dagger. "Monsters at the borders?"

To her surprise, Malcolm gave a snort of laughter. "No," he said. "Chiron just told me that mom's coming. It was pretty obvious, but I decided to double-check." His eyes scrutinised the cabin once more. Annabeth wasn't sure what he was looking for. All the Athena campers had risen earlier that morning, cleaned up the cabin and with some time left before breakfast, they had returned to the comforts of books and battle strategies. While they had all left the cabin earlier, Annabeth was, once again, caught up in architecture.

"Anyway, we should get down to breakfast," Malcolm said, as the conch horn sounded.

Annabeth shut the laptop and hurried out after Malcolm, the worries that she had pushed to the back of her mind the previous night resurfacing. Her mother was coming. What about Percy? They weren't exactly best buddies. As Annabeth reached the mess hall, she happened to turn to her right and spotted a white owl gazing at her from its perch in a nearby tree. How strange, she thought. They rarely saw owls. She couldn't help shooting it a smile; like her mother, she loved owls.

Percy sat alone at the Poseidon table, Tyson having left for the forges the previous night. He looked almost mournful as he chugged down his blue soda. Annabeth threw him glances over her shoulder and caught his eye on several occasions. She wanted to go over to his table, but with her mother arriving at any moment and the rules about campers sitting at their parents' tables and nowhere else, she didn't budge.

"Where's mom?" Malcolm muttered to Annabeth, as he munched on some nuts. Every Athena camper had brain food on their plates that day.

Without a single warning, a loud hoot echoed across the dining pavilion and the owl Annabeth had seen earlier zoomed in and swooped down in front of the main table where Chiron sat. There was a flash of light and a moment later, a lady stood in the place of the owl. She was beautiful and lean, but her face bore a cold stare and her eyes were an intense gray. She surveyed the campers like a scientist scrutinising a test subject. Chiron and the campers immediately sprang to their feet and bowed.

"Welcome, Lady Athena, goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, useful arts, and battle strategy," Chiron spoke.

"Thank you, Chiron," Athena said, as she strode towards the table her children occupied. As the other campers sat down, they remained standing and managed small bows as their mother approached. Annabeth cast a sideways glance at Percy, who was taking another swig of his blue soda.

"Welcome, mom," Malcolm said, inclining his head slightly.

Athena smiled at him and gestured for her children to take a seat. The other campers threw them looks, each table discussing in low whispers about Athena's children and how they were born. Many were in awe and fascinated, but some thought it was just ridiculous. If Athena sensed anything, she didn't let on. All of the campers (except the Apollo cabin) were jealous of one thing, though, and that was the fact that Athena claimed all her children at birth.

"So, what do you have planned for us, mom?" one of the Athena campers, whose dad had been a (mad) scientist, piped up.

"What would you like to do?" their mother asked.

"Sculpt!"

"Weave!"

"Build!"

"Read!"

Athena let out a loose laugh. "Alright, then. We'll do all of them." Her gray eyes seem to twinkle, and Annabeth felt most of the tension being lifted.

#

Athena wasn't interested in 'class activities'. Each of her children were different and unique in their own ways, and despite being her children, they weren't necessarily good at everything she represented. Some of them were better in math and science (as far as their dyslexia would permit) than in arts and crafts. A couple could make a perfect model of the Parthenon but found astronomy to be extremely fascinating but rather mind-boggling.

The Athena campers were exempted from daily camp activities that day, much to the relief of some campers who never looked forward to being beaten by one of the Athena swordsmen. They gathered in Cabin 6 and began working on their own projects. Athena went round, taking a great interest in everything they did.

"It's going to have to be huge, of course," one camper was explaining to his mother as he drew out a sketch of an Athena statue he planned to sculpt someday. "Though not as huge as..." He stopped himself in time. The camper didn't think mentioning the Athena Parthenos was going to be such a great idea. "A pretty decent size."

Athena sat on the bunk beside him. "Well done, Andrew. The sketch looks good; you managed to capture everything I represent." Andrew went a deep shade of red.

"Thanks, mom."

"Now, maybe you could have a marble foundation..." Athena began to offer suggestions and Andrew scribbled in his notebook furiously.

"It's a little too early, but I thought doing some reading beforehand might help," a 14-year old camper said, poring over various course materials for university-level Astronomy. It wasn't much of a surprise as her father had been an astronomer himself, and had two star discoveries attributed to him.

"That's great, dear," Athena smiled, having just left Andrew to his work. "You could probably gain entrance to college right now. When you do, please inform me." Though most of her children had rich, intelligent fathers, Athena usually made sure her children's college or university fees were paid for, if they ever survived long enough and ultimately decide to leave Camp Half-Blood to pursue a higher education. Most of the time, though, it wasn't necessary, as they would easily snag all the full scholarships.

"It doesn't look that good, but..." One of the campers held up her tapestry of her mother against a background of the Parthenon. She had been working on it ever since Chiron announced that the gods were visiting.

Athena beamed as she fingered her daughter's handiwork. "It is good, child. Even better than that contestant on 'So You Think You Can Weave Better than a Goddess'. And he was a minor god." Athena then pointed out several sections in the tapestry that could do with some improvement. The camper grabbed her tools and resumed her work immediately.

Annabeth scribbled a couple more notes on the blueprint of the temple of Athena in Daedalus's laptop. Another window was opened, displaying a map she had drawn of Olympus. She had managed to find the perfect spot for the temple and was keen to start working on it. However, a lot of things were running through Annabeth's head. She thought of Percy, at the arena with Clarisse and the rest of the Ares cabin to work on swordsmanship. She thought about the rest of Athena's visit. Percy was bound to run into the goddess. Annabeth could only hope he didn't accidentally confirm Athena's views that he was unworthy of her daughter.

"That looks interesting, Annabeth," came her mother's voice from behind her. Annabeth tensed slightly. Hopefully her mother wasn't the goddess of reading minds. She turned slightly.

"Thank you, mom. Now that the houses of the minor gods and nymphs have been completed, I decided to move on to the temples," Annabeth said. "Lady Artemis's is already being rebuilt right now. I'm planning about two for every god, to be fair. And Andrew over there managed to finish the statues of Lords Ares and Apollo last week. I hope they're pleased with it; I mean, I don't want him to be incinerated and..."

"Annabeth."

Annabeth went silent.

Athena settled on the empty space by Annabeth on her bunk. She caught sight of her daughter's Yankees cap on the bedside table and smiled. It was a wise choice. That birthday present had been quite useful. In fact, 'useful' was an understatement. It had aided Annabeth so much on her quests. Her quests with Percy Jackson...

Being a goddess didn't change anything. As a mother, Athena could tell what Annabeth was thinking.

"You're doing a wonderful job as architect of Olympus, my dear. Even my father Zeus wishes to commend you on your work. And the minor gods and nymphs are ecstatic with their new homes. I could not be prouder, Annabeth."

Annabeth blushed. "Thanks, mom." She turned back to the laptop. "Does this temple look alright? I was thinking that the statue Andrew's currently working on can be placed in it..." Athena edged nearer to her daughter and glanced at the screen of another one of her children's laptop.

The subject of Percy Jackson could wait. Even better, maybe it did not have to be brought up.

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**Thanks for reading! And thanks to everyone who reviewed. Any ideas for Athena (or other gods) are welcome. Also 'Andrew' is just a random name; I noticed the name 'Drew' meant wise (I think) and decided to just use 'Andrew' as we already have a Drew from Aphrodite. :-P**

** Something to do with the campers (except the Apollo cabin) being envious of Athena kids: I think Apollo claims his kids upon their arrival to camp, as his cabin rivaled that of Hermes, right? What do you think? **

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** To Guest: 1) Like I mentioned, this is set before the Heroes of Olympus. 2) The gods have been to camp, but I don't think they hung out with their kids or had much direct contact. Zeus didn't allow it? **


	12. Athena: Day 2

When the Athena children entered the mess hall with smirks on their faces, the rest of the campers knew nothing good was going to come out of it.

Annabeth, as counselor for Cabin Six stood before everyone and glanced down at a roll of parchment she held. Her mother stood next to her, surveying everyone with her startling gray eyes. Despite those eyes, Athena's modern clothes- t-shirt and jeans- made it hard for them to imagine she was the same goddess who assisted Odysseus.

"The rules of this task is simple," Annabeth read out. She gestured towards the strawberry fields. "Beyond the fields, a clear plot of land now exists, though it is only temporary." She half-glanced at her mother and the campers nodded. "There, each cabin is required to build a small monument in honor of their godly parent. All the materials required can be found there."

A collective groan came from the campers and Chiron couldn't help chuckling. As far as anyone knew, only the Athena campers actually understood architecture. Some couldn't be bothered, while others (especially the Apollo cabin) only appreciated the aesthetic sense of it.

"Sounds awesome! Bring it on!" someone from the Hephaestus cabin said, and cheers erupted from his fellow half-siblings. Well, the Hephaestus cabin built stuff every day; how hard was a small monument going to be?

#

The field Athena had created was large, and the Ares cabin remarked it was probably almost as large as a battlefield. Aware of the fact that Athena was also the goddess of warfare, they couldn't help wondering if it was going to play more of a part than just a simple place to build monuments on.

"Bet you we're going to have a battle here tomorrow," Sherman muttered to Clarisse.

As soon as they arrived, the first sight to greet them was a huge mound of various materials- bricks, metal, papier-mâché, plaster of paris, et cetera. On one part the field, square markings had been made in the ground and in the centre of each, a symbol had been drawn. There were 17 altogether, for all the cabins in the camp, excluding the empty ones- Zeus, Hera and Artemis.

"You have to build in the confines of that space," Annabeth announced gesturing at the markings. The campers scurried off to their own cabin's square. Annabeth joined her siblings at the one with an owl in the centre and glance over at Percy. He alone hovered over his square with a trident.

"You are encouraged help other cabins, especially those with... fewer members," Athena said, as Annabeth caught her eye. Annabeth beamed at her mother. "You have until sunset. Begin now."

Annabeth turned to her siblings, who had already produced papers and pencils. Huddled together, Annabeth began sketching out various designs as her siblings bombarded her with their ideas.

"I say we build a replica of the Parthenon. I mean, it's really common. Anyone can see it's Athena right away," said one.

"I was thinking we should go for a fresh concept," Annabeth responded. "Anymore ideas?"

"What about a grand statue?" asked Andrew. "I mean, a statue is considered as a monument, too, right?"

"Yes, and it's also probably what the other cabins are gonna come up with," Annabeth said. "Our mom is here. Let's make it extraordinary."

"What about something similar to the Parthenon, but with a circular base instead? And then a statue in the middle."

"The columns might be a little hard," Malcolm remarked.

"Let's build a statue," Andrew spoke again. "But wait! Just listen- this statue is different; we won't just have a full-body image of Athena standing atop a simple base. The statue at the top should depict her doing something from 'mythology', like fighting Enceladus or something. And the base would have smaller sculptures depicting her birth and other events from her life, spirating upwards, and sort of like how far she has gone as a goddess from the time she was born to her battling Enceladus."

"That's gonna take a lot of work." Malcolm glanced half-heartedly at the mound of materials. A Hepahestus kid was already running towards it and started picking out materials.

"We could use the papier-mâché."

Annabeth sighed. "I guess I'll have to leave that to the rest of you who inherited mom's arts and crafts talents. I mean, I can do weaving, but I'm not an expert sculptor or fine artist."

"Leave it to us!" Andrew smiled. "So, is that idea fine?"

Annabeth turned back to her sketches and drew a brief outline of Andrew's idea. "It's okay, but does everyone agree?"

The rest of the Athena campers were fine with it, so Malcolm led a few of them to the mound where they began picking out materials deemed suitable while Annabeth continued adding more details to the sketch.

"Zeus swallows Metis as a fly, birth from Zeus's head in full battle armor," Annabeth muttered under her breath as she worked. "Raised by Triton, befriended Pallas, Pallas's death, the creation of Pandora, war with the Titans, and... Enceladus." Annabeth finished off the sketch. It was going to be a lot of work, but it looked promising.

#

Andrew appeared to be really good with papier-mâché. Another sibling worked well with plaster of paris, and being children of Athena, they worked and completed the sculptures faster than any mortal artist.

"Oops, I disfigured her," muttered the sibling, casting aside a ruined sculpture of Pallas and starting on a new one. However, being half-mortal, mistakes still occurred.

At noon, everyone stopped working and gathered in the centre of the field for a picnic lunch. The weather was almost perfect; sunny and a little cloudy, with the occasional breeze. Athena had personally requested Aeolus to send breezes, and Zeus to stay away from Long Island if he felt in the mood for a thunderstorm. Rain wouldn't wet the field as Athena had placed it within the camp's protective barrier, but it would just cast a gloomy feeling over everyone. Judging from the shining sun, Athena concluded that Apollo had also gotten her memo.

"Best. Lunch. Ever." Will Solace stretched out on the grass, gazing up at the sky. As Chiron trotted by, smiling slightly at the sight of the campers, Will turned to face the centaur. "Can we please make this permanent?" he begged.

Chiron chuckled. "Sadly, no. You do know this field disappears when the grey-eyed goddess leaves."

Annabeth joined Percy, who sat alone. "Do you think your mother would be fine with us sitting together?" he asked, as she dropped onto the grass beside him.

Annabeth threw a glance in Athena's direction. The goddess was conversing with a Hermes camper (who was probably just interested in mooching arts and crafts tips off her judging from the dilapidated state of their monument). "We'll be fine," Annabeth responded, as casually as she could. "Don't worry, Seaweed Brain."

"You know, I've started to miss that name," Percy grinned. "We haven't been seeing each other much with all these gods coming down all at once."

Annabeth stared around at the other campers, unable to make out their cabins as they were all sitting with others from different cabins, laughing and rolling around. She couldn't help wondering if Athena had orchestrated this on purpose so she could be with Percy during this picnic lunch...

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Annabeth quickly said, and forced a smile. But Percy was not easily fooled.

"It has something to do with Athena, right?"

"No."

"Just say it. I'm always here to listen."

"It's nothing. Drop it, Seaweed Brain."

From the tone of her voice, Percy knew better than to keep pressing on. They shared their lunch, occasionally feeding each other, which elicited many stares and giggles from the Aphrodite cabin and other campers who happened to be looking. However, their conversations had a lot of awkward silences in between. Annabeth couldn't help wondering if this was also part of her mother's plan.

#

"We're actually coming along great!" Malcolm enthused, giving the statue a once-over.

Made with papier-mâché, plaster of paris, some chicken wire and other miscellaneous materials for some details, the base bore small sculptures and carvings of people from Athena's past and childhood and her interactions with them. Atop the base, a single statue of Athena stood, in a pose as though she was throwing something. The Enceladus part was still under construction.

"Myths say she threw Sicily at Enceladus. Others say she drove a chariot. We're just going to go with a spear," Andrew said, as Annabeth and Malcolm checked on him.

"You know the answer is just standing approximately fifty feet away from us," Malcolm remarked. The Athena campers shared a laugh.

Just as the sun went down (and Will Solace called to it; "Come on, dad! A little more time, please?"), Andrew placed Enceladus atop the base. "Done." He said, stepping back to admire their work.

"Great effort, guys," Malcolm said, beaming at his siblings.

At the sound of the Chiron's stamping hooves, the campers quickened their pace, but as Athena clapped her hands once, everyone stopped what they were doing. Each one stood by their monument, watching the goddess warily.

"It is not in my position to judge," Athena smiled. "All I can say is, you did it all to the best of your ability... more or less..." Her eyes fell on the Hermes monument that was supposed to be a statue of their father holding the caduceus but looked more like a column wrapped in a toga, with winged bowls at its feet, holding up a salami. Each camper had their faces stained with paint as well, from the fights that had broken out. "... and you should be proud of yourselves. I'm sure your parents would be pleased, too." The sky rumbled.

The campers applauded and cheered. Though they were sure Athena just didn't want to hurt any feelings, it was not every day they got commended by the goddess of crafts.

As everyone marched off to dinner, Annabeth got a look at Percy's monument. He had received help from many other campers, including some of Annabeth's own siblings, but the idea was his. Poseidon stood on a small, round base, but dressed in his usual casual clothes, along with his fishing hat. It contrasted greatly with the statues of the other gods all clothed in togas and chitons. Also, Annabeth noted, the statue was completely blue.

"Nice work, children," Athena's voice snapped Annabeth out of her reverie. She and her siblings bowed slightly to the goddess as she inspected their statue. Her expression seemed a little melancholic as her grey eyes swept over the sculptures of Pallas. She stared long at Enceladus, before finally turning to her children. Expecting words of wisdom, Annabeth and her siblings were a little startled when their mother said, "Well, run off to dinner now!"

#

"Hey, mom, can you tell us anything about the original Parthenon?" Andrew asked, as the Athena campers turned in for bed that night.

Athena let out a small laugh. "What do you want to know?" From the tone of her voice, Andrew knew to avoid the topic of the statue completely.

"Anything."

"Well, it had colours. Hues of blue, gold and red. Now, it's a crumbling ruin ever since western civilization moved to America. I'm glad they have a Parthenon in Nashville."

"Can you tell us about Myrmex?" another camper requested. There was a short silence before the goddess replied.

"I hope she learnt her lesson." Athena sounded a little sad.

"Marsyas's flute?"

"The flute I invented. Well, Marsyas should've known better than to challenge Apollo. Never challenge a god."

The campers knew whom she was talking about. Images of spiders began to flash through their minds, and they shuddered.

"Mom?" came a small voice from a younger camper. "What about Medusa? I heard that it was Poseidon who forced her. But why did you punish her?"

Athena sighed. "I can't possibly punish my uncle, child, as you should see."

Silence descended upon Cabin Six as the campers slowly drifted off to sleep, weary from their entire day. And with the goddess nearby, no dreams terrorized them, only the thought that the following night, she was not going to be there anymore.

* * *

**As usual, thanks for reading, favouriting and following! **

* * *

** To dauntless101: Yes. :-)**

** To Quarter-blood99: Thanks for the suggestion! However, I don't know if the demigods' dyslexia comes with dyscalculia as well. **


	13. Author's Note

I want to apologize for not having updated for so long, but I've been thinking of deleting this story. First of all, it's because I think it gets repetitive at times, especially the events. The ideas seem forced, and sometimes there isn't much to write about and when I try to, it sounds really terrible (that could also come from me being a terrible writer). I don't think things will look good when it comes to the minor gods.

Also, I would prefer to post stories of interactions of the gods with their children as individual one-shots or two-shots (like one I recently wrote, 'Ode to Silena') because it could be found easier by those browsing by filters, as one story limits us to tag only about four characters.

But nonetheless, thanks a lot for reading, favouriting, following and reviewing! It meant a lot!


	14. Athena: Day 3

Annabeth and Athena strolled casually among the erected monuments, which would be carried to the cabins after the goddess's departure, neither one of them speaking. The first rays of dawn were visible on the horizon and a light breeze rustled the leaves of the trees and whipped at the two females' hair.

They hadn't gone far when they spotted the figure of a young girl who looked no older than eight, standing before the statue the Athena cabin had put together, gazing up at it. Annabeth, assuming it was a camper, rushed forwards, but stopped short when she recognized who it was. She glanced over her shoulder at Athena, who smiled.

"Hestia."

The girl turned and beamed at Athena. Annabeth's eyes flickered between the two goddesses, trying to process the idea that the young girl was actually the 30-something woman's aunt. Hestia continued strolling among the statues.

"Is it normal for Lady Hestia to leave the hearth?" she asked her mother, as soon as the other goddess was out of earshot.

"Well, Artemis doesn't exactly drive the moon all the time, does she?" Athena responded. She gestured at the approaching dawn. "And you might think Apollo's driving that right now, but in reality he's probably somewhere in a mortal cafe, flirting for Olympus."

Annabeth cracked a small smile. Her mother went on, "Anyway, Lady Hestia has a great interest in architecture as well. She is the goddess of architecture after all."

Silence reigned over them for a while, before Hestia came back. "These demigods are so talented, especially your children, Athena," she said, smiling. "It's such a shame to think that some of these will end up in the back of cabins or in the attic of the big house." There was a pause, before she went on, "So, are you planning anything interesting for your kids and the other campers today? You should've seen what they did when my brother Poseidon dropped by."

Athena shook her head. "I'm not planning anything. The campers are to return to their daily activities and training today, including my children. I would like to see how they have been training."

#

The campers gathered on the grass by the lake, books and Ancient Greek texts in their arms, all chatting nineteen to the dozen. As usual, they sat in groups, each cabin with their own members. Grover soon came bounding along, though looking a little tense, as beside him strode Athena, who had taken on the appearance of a strict university professor.

"Hello, class! Welcome back to Greek Mythology with Grover!" Grover greeted, his voice sounding a little higher than usual, and he kept throwing sideways glances at the goddess who had settled herself nearby. Several campers giggled. "Today, in honour of our visiting goddess, we shall study the 'myths' on Lady Athena!" The satyr turned and gave a quick bow to the goddess, who merely nodded.

"I don't think your mother actually wants this," Percy muttered to Annabeth. He had found a seat as close to the Athena cabin as possible. "I mean, imagine being discussed about right..." He trailed off as he noticed Athena's startling grey eyes fixing him and Annabeth with a piercing stare.

"So, c-can anyone tell me other names for Athena used in ancient texts?" Grover asked, stuttering slightly.

"Pallas Athene!" yelled someone from the Athena cabin, receiving a small smile from his mother. "Or Athenia, and Minerva and also... um, Jove's seed."

This elicited several more giggles from the other campers, who immediately shut up as the goddess shot them a glare. Annabeth inhaled sharply, and silently agreed with Percy. This wasn't such a great idea. But Grover seemed to think it was one way to honour the visiting goddess. Well, at least Greek mythology class lasted only for half-an hour.

"Correct!" Grover enthused. "So, tell me, which myth involving Goddess Athena is your favourite?"

"The birth of Erichthonius," piped up one camper. Annabeth frowned. Why were these campers feeling so suicidal all of a sudden? She glanced at her mother warily, and noticed the goddess's face darkening, but she detected traces of sympathy in those grey eyes as well.

"And can you tell me what's in that myth?" Grover asked. Annabeth sighed. Looks like the suicidal thing has spread to satyrs as well.

The camper, who was from Aphrodite, began speaking. "Well, Athena went to Hephaestus to get new armour. But Hephaestus chased and tried to..." He stopped short, his shirt smoking as the goddess's eyes trained themselves on him. "I'm sorry."

Annabeth sighed. "She helped Odysseus on his way back from the Trojan War," she spoke up, in case the campers got any other ideas. "Odysseus was wise and cunning and she favoured him. Also, she stopped Achilles from killing Agamemnon. Hera sent her. And she also tricked Hector to stop running from Achilles."

Athena nodded, smiling slightly at her daughter. As class continued, Athena leaned over to one of her siblings and peered at the face of the watch wrapped around his wrist. 12:10. She groaned silently. A lot could happen in 20 minutes.

#

"Mom?"

Athena looked up at Annabeth. It was free period, and the campers were all free to do whatever they wanted, but the Athena cabin preferred to stay indoors with their mother, who was leaving that night. Athena didn't say anything as she gazed at Annabeth for the goddess could sense that her daughter was about to ask a dangerous question.

"What do you have against Percy?"

The goddess was silent for a long time, only speaking when her other children came up to her. Annabeth didn't dare to ask again, but waited as patiently as she could.

"I do not want you to be the object of his fatal flaw. Also, he is Poseidon's son. It is unacceptable."

Annabeth felt rage stirring up inside of her, but she knew better than to talk back. She turned away and redirected her attention to Daedalus's laptop and tried to forget Athena's words. The goddess glanced at her daughter's back and sighed.

"Don't get me wrong, Annabeth, I do want you to be happy as well. But Percy..."

"I am happy with Percy," she spoke, her voice quivering slightly.

"I know. And I'm okay with him, Annabeth."

Her daughter turned slightly. "You are?"

"I mean, if I were to overlook his fatal flaw and parentage, he is quite a hero. Not the wisest, but..." She took a deep breath. "... worthy enough of my daughter."

The goddess was taken aback as her daughter pulled her into a tight hug. Athena patted the girl's back.

"But does his parentage really matter?" Annabeth asked, as they broke apart. "I know about the rivalry between you and Poseidon, not just regarding Athens, but also Medusa, but there are campers from Hephaestus who have relationships with those from Aphrodite." Athena's eyes flashed dangerously for a moment, and Annabeth knew she was toeing the line.

At long last, the goddess sighed. "If he makes you happy, Annabeth, then I cannot object." A distant look dominated her features. "But there is a lot in store for this boy." She turned back to her daughter. "If we gods could pray, I would for the sake of both of you."

#

For the sing-along that night, the Apollo cabin had come up with songs about Athena, which were much better than Grover's mythology class. The children of the god of prophecy were also singing with more gusto that night, aware that their father's visit was soon to follow.

As the other campers returned to their respective cabins, the Athena campers all looked as though someone had died. "Cheer up, children," Athena gently chided them. "I will return in a month's time, after all." She hugged each one of them in turn, before turning to Annabeth.

"Thanks, mom," Annabeth said, as she hugged her mother once more.

"For what? My cousin?" Athena whispered in her daughter's ear.

Annabeth couldn't help smiling. It was a good thing the gods didn't really have DNA, else it would be inappropriate for her to be dating Percy at all. "That and everything else."

They broke apart. "Send my regards to your fathers and mothers when you return to the mortal world, will you?" she beamed at her other children. She didn't forget those who were with two mothers; for Athena wasn't a sexist, and there were women who had impressed her as well, and they, too, had had her brainchildren. The campers nodded, and then Pallas Athena swiftly returned to Olympus.

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** Thanks for all the feedback, it meant a lot. And I apologise again if some of it seems repetitive, and regarding this chapter, if Athena and Annabeth appear a little OOC. Once again, thanks for reading!**

** Also, has anyone here read the Iliad and Odyssey?**

** To 2 Imp (?): Yeah, but maybe it could prepare them if they ever went on an _Odyssey... _;-)  
**


	15. Apollo: Day 1

Most of the Apollo campers were famous for being early-risers, all awake as soon as the first rays of dawn were visible. Will Solace sat up in his bed, watching as his other siblings began stirring, and staring out the window at the quiet camp.

"Will!" cried one of the younger siblings, clambering onto his bunk excitedly. "Daddy's coming today, isn't he?"

"Yes, Daphne," Will responded, ruffling the little girl's hair. She bounded off his bed, yelling 'Daddy's coming today! Daddy's coming today!" at the top of her voice, till the minority of campers who were not interested in rising early were forced to stir. Daphne was about seven, named after their father's old love, and had the worse ADHD among all of them. She returned a moment later, and sat at the foot of Will's bunk.

"Do you all remember how you were claimed?" she asked. "I was claimed when I first shot an arrow!"

At this, the other campers grinned. One of the reasons why the Apollo cabin was almost as big as the Hermes one before Percy Jackson made the gods swear to claim all their children by age thirteen, was due to the fact that Apollo always claimed his children even before the oath. And the moments when he would claim them were all pretty memorable.

"I remember Will was giving me a tour of camp, and I passed this cabin. At that moment, you were all having band practice and you guys sounded great! And I was like, 'That cabin is awesome!' And immediately after that, dad claimed me," recalled one camper.

"Mine was when I hit my first bullseye!"

"Dad claimed me when I was sunbathing on the beach!"

"I was claimed after I sent that volleyball into that Ares's kid's face!"

One by one, the campers recalled how they had been claimed, and Will couldn't help smiling. Daphne laughed at each one, bouncing happily on her older brother's bunk. As soon as Will spotted some movement in the Athena cabin, however, he got up.

"Alright, people! Time to hit the showers!"

The campers hurried to the bathroom, playfully pushing each other out of the way and yelling stuff like 'Dibs on the hot water!' Not many Apollo campers were fond of cold baths. Once in the shower stalls, the usual bathroom choir started. The campers waiting outside hurriedly rushed around the cabin, straightening things, putting away stuff, making beds and sweeping. The Athena kids were doing cabin inspection that day, and Athena was always strict.

"Well, for the first time ever you guys are actually spick-and-span," Annabeth commented, as she inspected their cabin later.

"Daddy's coming today!" piped up Daphne.

Annabeth smiled down at the child. "Have fun, then!" she said, before hurrying to the other cabins. She was still feeling a little down, as Athena had only left the previous night.

#

"Attention, campers!" Chiron called. The hubbub died instantly as every camper turned to the centaur. "As you know, our Lady Athena returned to Olympus last night. And as usual, this morning, we will be welcoming another god." Chiron peered up at the sun. A moment later, there was a burst of light on the horizon. Knowing what to expect, Percy and Nico shielded their eyes, but Chiron had to instruct the other campers to do so. Warmth enveloped them. When the light died, the campers slowly uncovered their eyes.

Parked by the dining pavilion was a red convertible Maserati Spyder. The metal glowed and all the campers, save for Percy and Nico gaped at it. One Ares kid turned to his sibling and whispered, "That's a muscle car!"

The driver's door swung open and their next visiting god stepped out, with his bright smile and usual unnecessary Ray-Bans, which he whipped off in one swift motion. The campers found themselves staring at a replica of the common Apollo camper.

Correction: The god whom half of the Apollo campers were a replica of.

"Chiron! Great to see you again!" he called, striding into the dining pavilion. The Apollo campers were on the edge of their seat, and Will had to restrain Daphne from leaping off her seat and running to the visitor.

Chiron inclined his head slightly, before turning to the campers. "Please welcome..." he began, but was cut short.

"Apollo, god of the sun, archery, prophecy, music, healing, poetry and light; at your service!" He bowed before the campers, who were slowly rising to their feet. He then raised his hands and Percy groaned silently. "I feel a haiku coming on." He cleared his throat.

_"Here I am today._  
_ Camp Half-Blood plays host to me._  
_ This place is so cool."_

He grinned at the standing campers, waiting for applause, but the only one he got was from his cabin, and several of the Aphrodite campers who had been instantly smitten by the god's good looks. Noticing the awkward response from the other campers, Will released his hold on Daphne.

"Daddy!" the girl enthused, scrambling down from her seat, racing towards her father and throwing her small arms around him.

"Hey, kiddo!" the god beamed, scooping her up and putting her on his shoulders, and striding towards the campers of Cabin 7. Daphne's other siblings came forwards, in turns, hugging and greeting their father, as the other campers sat down and resumed eating breakfast.

"Cool car, dad!" Austin commented.

"Thanks, kid," Apollo grinned. "You all wanna go for a spin in it after breakfast?" This elicited jealous looks from the Ares cabin.

"Does this mean we get to skip Ancient Greek with Annabeth?" asked another mini-Apollo. Annabeth looked up at the mention of her name.

"You're skipping all your activities for today," Chiron said, trotting up to them. He turned to Apollo. "But it is Friday, so we do have Capture the Flag tonight."

"Don't worry, I'll cook something up," Apollo responded. "Improvise." He winked at his children.

#

After breakfast, the campers headed off for Ancient Greek with Annabeth while the Apollo campers trooped with their father towards the parked Maserati, with Daphne swinging from her father's arm. "Can we take turns driving it?" asked Austin, running ahead of the others. He peered, wide-eyed at the car. "And how will it fit all of us?"

"Ah yes, same problem." Apollo took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. The chirping sounded and just like it had done some time back, the car glowed and was replaced by a school bus. Only it was completely gold and had fiery decals. "School bus, or not, my kids will ride in style." He turned to face them. "You can take turns driving, but only at my command and only if you are of age." At this, the younger campers groaned. "Also, has any of you offended Father Zeus recently?"

The campers shook their heads.

"Alright! All aboard, then!"

The campers scrambled onto the sun-chariot-turned-school-bus and found seats. The older siblings willingly gave up the front seats to their younger siblings as they retreated to the back. Will, being counselor, got in last.

"Wanna drive, Will?" his father called to him.

Will glanced at the steering wheel a little warily. He wasn't much of a driver and hadn't exactly passed his mortal driving test with flying colours (partly due to his ADHD as well). "It could be dangerous. I mean, this is the sun chariot."

"Oh come on, Will!" Daphne said. His other siblings began cheering "Will! Will! Will!" Apollo grinned.

"Okay, fine!" Will settled in the driver's seat. He gulped as he gripped the steering wheel.

"Speed equals heat," Apollo began giving his son the same advise he had given Thalia. " Start slowly and open her up only when you've got good altitude."

The bus lurched upwards and campers were thrown against their seats. Will guided the vehicle into the sky, relying on his impulses and what he had learned in mortal driving school. Soon enough, the bus was in the air and all the campers 'ooh'ed and 'ahh'ed as they peered out of the windows at a stunning bird's-eye view of Camp Half-Blood.

"Good job, Will! Keep it up!" Apollo praised.

The vehicle soared over Long Island, and made its way towards New York. "Don't go too low, Will!" The vehicle went up higher, much too high, and a chill suddenly fell on the big city. "Okay, maybe a little lower! Nope, higher! Alright, that's perfect!"

As they veered towards Manhattan, the campers did a dangerous switch of drivers, as Will got out of the seat and it was immediately occupied by another sibling who was a year younger. He did a better job than Will, keeping a good altitude as the bus sailed smoothly out of New York and out over the Atlantic Ocean. Several campers whooped as an endless landscape of blue opened up underneath them.

Another switch of drivers later, and the third oldest camper guided the bus back to New York, and went coursing on to Cleveland. When the fourth oldest camper settled behind the wheel, the other campers began calling, "Take us to Europe!"

The camper drove them for quite distance, till they were sailing over Spain, and over Italy. The fifth oldest camper took over, and, on purpose, flew them on to Greece.

"I can see Delos!" called one camper. Apollo smiled. He felt a longing to land and show the campers around his birthplace as well as check out the tourists who flocked to the Temple of Apollo, but the campers shouldn't be straying too far from Camp Half-Blood.

The bus turned back and headed for New York as the last camper of driving age took control of the wheel. They had a bumpy landing by the dining pavilion, but all piled out, unharmed without many bruises.

"That was awesome!" Austin cried. "I hope I can drive that when I'm older!"

"I'll send you a personal invitation, Austin." Apollo grinned at his son.

#

They trooped back to the cabin, passing other campers who were busy polishing armor. Apollo checked out the cabins. "Where are you spending the night, dad?" asked Kayla, noticing what her father was doing. "The other gods stayed in the cabins with their children," she added.

"And so will I! Did you think I would sleep there?" Apollo gestured at Zeus's cabin.

"Well, you are a son of Zeus," Kayla grinned.

Just then, an Aphrodite camper came running up. She tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear at the sight of the god, bowed once before addressing his kids. "You may have the day off, but Chiron wants to know if any of you are up for Pegasus riding?"

"We just went Sun Chariot riding!" answered Austin. Kayla handed her father a copy of their schedule. Apollo scanned it and then clapped his hands once.

"Hey, since it's gonna be the weekend and you will be activity-free, what do you say you comply to your schedule for today?" he beamed at all of them. "I mean, you will be having volleyball, which I'm sure you're all great at, and there'll be firework-making!"

"Sounds fair," Kayla shrugged.

#

Pegasus riding saw them with Percy and the Aphrodite campers maneuvering their way through the skies on those winged horses. Apollo watched from the ground, cheering his kids on. The Aphrodite campers were a little distracted throughout, as they kept shooting looks at the sun god. For the first time ever, Apollo wasn't flirting with anyone. He was here to be with his children, and to them he was going to focus his full attention.

Grover, though determined not to repeat the mistake with Athena, still felt inclined to discuss 'myths' involving Apollo, as the god sat by the class and listened to the tales of himself, correcting and adding wherever necessary. Even when they discussed Hyacinthus, Cassandra, Daphne, Marpessa and the other characters who had rejected Apollo's love, the god kept his cool, though his eyes did take on that distant look from time to time, as though he was wistfully recalling the old days.

After lunch, the Apollo cabin went up against the Ares cabin once more for volleyball, but being better than them with missiles, they dominated the game. During firework-making, Apollo and his kids came up with dangerous fireworks that, when released, would shine as bright as the sun, or shoot rubber-tipped arrows in all directions or play Ancient Greek music in the sky.

#

Hermes, Apollo and Athena teamed up as usual, for Capture the Flag. Percy, being the only Poseidon camper, joined them as well. They gathered at the edge of the woods and Annabeth began discussing strategies. Apollo added a few of his ideas, amazing the other campers, especially Percy, who had a fixed impression of Apollo being a carefree god who didn't care much about stuff like this.

"Well, he was a pretty important god in Ancient Greece," Annabeth reminded him as they wrapped up their plans and headed towards the woods, from which howls of the creatures and monsters could be heard. "And he was the chief patron of Troy, and even fought in the war as a Trojan soldier. And he does have divine wisdom as well, though not so much as my mother or Zeus."

"I almost forgot," Percy muttered.

The archers from Cabin 7 stationed themselves in the trees while those who were good with swords went in pursuit of the flag. Everyone was under the impression that the visiting god was with Chiron and Mr. D, but Apollo was actually disguised as a camper and participating in Capture the Flag, only he was neutral. He merely ran around, fighting off campers that tried to pick a fight with him, the colour of his armor switching from one camper to another. He kept an eye out for his children and any injured campers, but most of the latter were being taken care of his kids who were on healing duty. The god felt a sense of pride.

Monsters leaped in to hinder the campers' progress of retrieving the flags, and Apollo encountered several. Not many survived the touch of his golden sword. That was when one observant camper noticed.

"Lord Apollo?" exclaimed a child of Hecate, who was sprinkling curses.

"Don't worry, I'm neutral!" he called out.

The Hecate kid didn't know how to respond to that.

Kayla and Austin, determined not to let their father down, battled hard, driving campers out of their way. But Clarisse was there to stop them from retrieving their flag.

"Not so fast, sunshine," she sneered.

Kayla drew a sword. She wasn't very good at it, compared to the Ares campers or some of her other siblings, but her quiver was empty. Clarisse raised her electric spear, and without thinking, Kayla swung her sword, attempting to slice it in half, but she missed. However, Austin tackled Clarisse to the ground, wrestling with the larger girl.

"Get the flag, Kay!"

Kayla bounded up to the prize and hoisted the flag up.

#

"A sing-along led by my awesome kids? That's pretty neat, Chiron," Apollo commented, as the campers headed off to the campfire. He joined them a moment later.

"Would you like to lead us, dad?" asked Austin.

Apollo grinned, before snapping his fingers. His lyre appeared in his hands. "With pleasure," he responded, settling down amidst his kids, and began playing the instrument he had gotten from Hermes so long ago. The magical music of the lyre made that night's sing-along the best the campers had ever experienced.

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**Sorry this got a little too long. Thanks for reading, and all the continuous feedback! **


	16. Apollo: Day 2

The sounds of the water from the showers splattering against the tiled bathroom floors could be heard in Cabin 7 way earlier than the others, as usual. Those who were waiting began dragging out their various musical instruments, setting up sets of drums, tuning guitars and violins and assembling flutes. Will had suggested band practice, which involved all of the members, including those who weren't gifted in music, but bore skills in other fields such as healing or archery. And a concert was to be held that night, at the amphitheater. Unlike the other gods, Apollo had given his children the freedom to pick what they wished to do, and Will, as head counselor had brainstormed several activities related to their father.

"We're so gonna rock camp!" Austin, a natural drummer, enthused.

As they were setting up, with Apollo checking on them, stopping to talk to each one of them in turn, there came a loud rap on the door. Will crossed the cabin in a few strides and answered it, to find a red-headed grinning girl wearing an over-large shirt with paint stains on it. She grinned.

"Rachel?" Will asked. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"I heard about this whole thing about your parents dropping by," the artist responded. "And I thought I might drop by for the weekend, just as an act of respect for your father. I merely calculated the days, and I suppose it's his turn now?"

"His second day here, yes," the head counselor of Cabin 7 said. "Just a second, I'll get him-"

But before Will could turn and call to his father, the god himself strode next to his son at the door, with his usual blinding grin. "How's my new Oracle?" he greeted.

Rachel bowed slightly. "Lord Apollo," she addressed. "Well, so far I've not slipped into prophecy mode in the middle of class, thank the gods."

Will and his father laughed. Will held the door open a little wider. "You can come on in," he said. "We're probably gonna play some music this morning. Care to join us?"

Rachel glanced at the instruments, and then spotted an easel in the corner, belonging to one of the campers. She crossed over to it and inspected the paints resting near it. "Sure," she replied. "Only in a different way. Maybe I could paint you jamming?" She shot a glance at the camper whom the easel belonged to, silently seeking permission. The camper beckoned her to it.

The other campers who were resting in their cabins, some wanting to sleep in, were all roused by tunes coming from the Apollo cabin, save for the cabins of the minor gods, which were a little far off.

Apollo sat back and grinned at his kids, quite sure his progenies were the most talented in that camp. "So, what are we gonna play, Will?" asked Daphne, holding on to her musical triangle.

Will, being more adept in the healing side of the traits inherited from his father, turned to Austin. "What do you say, Austin?"

The drummer's brows furrowed for a moment as he thought, before his bright blue eyes lit up. "I got it! Let's play songs that best describe dad!" As he spoke, he gestured at his father with one of his drumsticks, before realising it and quickly averting it, for fear of looking disrespectful. Apollo didn't seem to notice, though, and nodded at the idea.

"Hit it!"

"I've got one!" called out one camper, and began to strum his guitar while singing a John Denver hit.

_"Sunshine, on my shoulders, makes me happy,_  
_ Sunshine, in my eyes can make me cry,_  
_ Sunshine, on the water, looks so lovely,_  
_ Sunshine, almost always makes me high."_

Some campers grinned at this, while others laughed. But as the camper finished his verse, Apollo unexpectedly joined in.

_"If I had a day that I could give you,_  
_ I'd give to you the day just like today,_  
_ If I had a song that I could sing for you,_  
_ I'd sing a song to make you feel this way."_

The god of music's voice was unsurprisingly mellifluous, and almost heavenly. He meant every word of the verse. No laughter came from the campers, but rather, broad smiles stretched across their faces. Some almost teared up. Rachel attacked the blank canvas with her loaded paintbrush, wanting to capture the moment.

"You're familiar with that song?" Austin asked.

"Of course," Apollo replied. "John Denver had my musical blessing."

Another camper raised his hand. "I've got another one!" He deftly switched to a new song, with his other siblings following on their own instruments.

_"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,_  
_ You make me happy, when skies are grey,_  
_ You never know, dear, how much I love you,_  
_ Please don't take my sunshine away."_

His siblings roared at this, and Apollo beamed. "Oh, don't worry, I'm here to say." He winked at his son.

"Anyone else?" asked Will.

"I've got a more... recent one," spoke a sister. She began to play a familiar intro on her electric guitar, which all her other siblings caught on immediately.

_"Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street,_  
_ Faster than the wind, passionate as sin,_  
_ Ending so suddenly."_

The campers cracked up once more, knowing full well what made their sister pick that song. It wasn't just the Maserati reference, but other themes from within the song.

"Ah, Taylor," Apollo smiled at the thought of the musician.

"Wait, we're supposed to pick songs that describe dad, right?" piped up another camper. "Well, then I've got one that really describes!" He picked up his acoustic guitar, and began to play and sing.

_"Forever young, I want to be forever young..."_

Even Rachel laughed at this. They spent the next couple of hours, churning out medleys, hits from the Top 40, and even some baroque pieces. Most of the Apollo campers listened to a wide range of music. At the end, one of the campers produced a lyre, a replica of his father's, minus the magical properties.

"Hey dad, I got this from archaeological books the Athena cabin has, and I'm not entirely sure if it's accurate, but I gave it my best shot."

"What is it?" the god asked.

The camper began plucking at the lyre, plucking out notes to an ancient hymn. His siblings recognised it immediately; their brother had been practising it, hoping to present it to their father. This sibling of theirs was more skilled in traditional instruments, particularly intruments from Ancient Greece. He began to sing a traditional hymn, occasionally accompanied by a sister on her flute. The camper's voice and the music of his lyre and the flute filled the cabin, giving the campers a slightly tingly feeling. Some closed their eyes and imagined themselves in Ancient Greece. He sung in Ancient Greek, but everyone completely understood.

As the camper ended his performance, which had been the First Delphic Hymn to Apollo, his father smiled. "Can you play the second?" he asked, gently. Rachel stopped her painting for a moment, feeling a little dizzy. She shook her head, hoping she wouldn't slip into prophecy mode.

The camper beamed and nodded, and immediately proceeded to sing and play the second hymn. In the god's mind, he recalled images of Delphi, and of his temple there, where the original Oracle of Delphi used to operate, before the earthquake that destroyed Helike and brought damages to the Temple of Apollo in Delphi.

"Wow, that was deep," Rachel said, shaking her head again, as the camper ended the hymn to applause from his siblings and father.

"Well, they were the Delphic hymns, and you are the Oracle of Delphi," Apollo smiled. "Probably normal you might feel something." He then turned to his kids. "You guys rocked! You know, you should totally come to Olympus to perform with me and the Muses. You could be like, an opening act, guest appearance, or you could perform alongside me! The Muses would love to meet you! Or you can come over to Parnassus."

"I don't think we can, dad," Kayla said, giggling slightly. "Percy told me about the quest you sent him on, regarding the chryseae celedons. He said there were only three of them, but they had such an effect on the mortals and even on him, a demigod, so with the fourth celedon, he's quite certain anything lesser than a god might... explode with all that godly music."

Apollo shrugged. "Then I'll just call off the celedons. I'm sure Olympus would love to hear the children of the god of music play!" He beamed at them.

"Sure, dad!" Austin grinned excitedly. "When can we go?"

#

The campers transported their instruments to the amphitheater in the camp as the sun went down, discussing about a future concert they might play in Olympus. The honour of playing in Olympus!

"We could like, build a fanbase of minor gods," Austin said, as he set up his drum set in the amphitheater. Not far off, the Nine Muses were getting ready as well. Apollo had invited them over to camp, just for that night's concert, during which he would be performing with his children. And he had thought the Nine Muses would be a great addition.

Will wandered over to the daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus. Calliope gave him a small smile and her eyes drifted wistfully over to the rest of the Apollo campers, coming to rest on one camper who had been singing while he worked. "Your brother reminds me a lot of my son," she told Will.

"Orpheus?" Will guessed.

Calliope nodded. Will noticed that she was a little distressed, so he greeted the other Muses. As the first campers began to file into the amphitheater, most of them excited while others a little reluctant, Will hurried off to his siblings.

"You wanna do a duet with dad, Will?" asked Austin, grinning wickedly.

"Gods of Olympus, no!" Will exclaimed, horrified. "You know music is not my forte."

In the audience, the campers were free to sit wherever they pleased, so Percy and Annabeth settled in the back row. "I wouldn't be too excited," he was saying. "I mean, if Apollo's music is as bad as his poetic sense, his concerts probably blow harder than Aeolus the wind god."

The Ares cabin weren't too excited either, and some had decided to just stay in their cabin and listen to rock music. The Aphrodite campers had only shown up with some interest in the good-looking god. Other campers were just curious. A god in concert? Sure, why not?

As the first tunes rang throughout the camp, even nymphs flocked to the amphitheater. Percy was proven wrong and began to develop an irrational fear that was linked to Annabeth falling for Apollo or one of his children. The Aphrodite campers squealed like fangirls. The music sounded different to every one of them, and were based on each demigod's own preference of music. Soon, all of the campers were on their feet, dancing and singing along while the satyrs had decided to join in with their reed pipes and rustic music. The fire burned bright throughout the night.

* * *

** Songs used: 'Sunshine on my Shoulders' by John Denver, 'You are my Sunshine' by Johnny Cash, 'Red' by Taylor Swift and 'Forever Young' by Alphaville.**


End file.
